The Love of a Son
by tempomental
Summary: Marinette is losing her battle with Lila one classmate at a time. Meanwhile, an act of carelessness threatens to change the Agreste family's life forever. Marinette and Adrien both find themselves struggling against forces outside their control. When those forces collide, their relationship hangs in the balance.
1. Hints, Allegations, & Things Left Unsaid

Plagg was hungry, and found himself staring disappointedly into a cabinet in Adrien's room.

 _Hmm… no Camembert here either. I must have finished this stash off as well. Kid's asleep, again. With everything he has going on, it's not a surprise. I don't want to wake him up… he won't mind if I find where the kitchen is and bring some cheese back here. Poor guy's gotta sleep sometime. I'll just go through this wall… down the hall, make a left… another left… through this door… bingo! Now let's see what's in these cabinets..._

He was so obsessed with his stomach that he didn't hear the kitchen door open behind him. He also didn't hear the small gasp from the person who had come into the kitchen.

Only a handful of people in Paris knew what kwamis were and what purpose they served. It was the bad luck of the Black Cat that three of them lived under the same roof.

Nathalie Sancoeur, girl Friday to fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste and devoted assistant to Hawk Moth, backed out of the kitchen as quietly as she had come in, and darted off to her employer's office. He was going to want to know about this.

* * *

Gabriel looked up from his computer screen at his assistant, who had uncharacteristically burst into the office. Raising an eyebrow at her flushed face, he snapped, "What is it, Nathalie?"

"Sir," she breathed. "I found him."

"Found who?" he responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Cat Noir. I found him and I know who he is."

Gabriel strode over to her and gripped her by the shoulders. "You've… found him? One-half of the key to my greatest desire?" He resisted the urge to begin shaking her. "Where? Where is he? Who is he?"

The slim, raven-haired woman swallowed. "He's here, sir. It's… it's Adrien. Adrien is Cat Noir."

Gabriel's hands fell to his sides and his mouth dropped open. _That's not possible, how could it be? I saw Adrien and Cat Noir in the same place when I made Gorizilla! It's true I had suspected him, but… no! Unless…_ "How sure are you? How did you find out?"

"His kwami, sir. I found it in the kitchen looking for something. It was the kwami of the Black Cat. I'm certain of it."

"Did you see the kwami with Adrien?" snapped Gabriel.

Nathalie hesitated. "...No, sir. I just saw the kwami."

"So the kwami could belong to someone else. You're not 100 percent sure," Gabriel mused. "Before we jump to any conclusions, we'll have to know beyond a doubt that Adrien is the fabled Cat Noir."

"If he isn't, sir?"

"Then nothing changes. It will be business as usual, of course."

"And if he is?" Nathalie braced herself for the response.

"We will have to win him over to our side. _Nothing_ will stand between a united Hawk Moth and Cat Noir… not even Ladybug and her team of heroes."

"How can we confirm that Adrien is Cat Noir?"

"Leave that to me, Nathalie. I've got some tricks up my sleeve. Now, go… I've got work to do." _I have to play this exactly right, or my greatest fortune could become my greatest downfall! I know just how to lure Cat Noir… and I have a few options to get him over to my side. Once he knows why I want the Miraculous, he'll be falling over himself trying to get them to me!_

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sleeping in her bed, oblivious to both the alarm clock going off next to her and the increasingly frantic red-with-black-spots kwami flitting about her head. Both were trying their best to wake Marinette up, but with schoolwork, fashion design, baking, friends, and superheroing, Marinette could barely get up on time for school every morning.

The kwami of the Ladybug Miraculous, which Marinette wore in her ears, was named Tikki. Tikki was kind and sweet and patient and everything that the young superheroine needed.

And she was frustrated.

 _This girl could sleep through an explosion._ Tikki drew herself up to her full height and shouted in her charge's ear, "MARINETTE! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE AGAIN!"

Marinette flew out of bed, saving herself from a nasty fall by grabbing the railing of her loft ladder at the last moment. Ladybug was graceful, elegant, and agile. Marinette was… a klutz. She stumbled down the stairs and half-consciously began the morning routine of teenage girls all around the world: hair, makeup, and clothes.

After that was done, and with Tikki safely hidden in her shoulder bag, Marinette went downstairs for breakfast. Eyes half closed, she poured some milk into a bowl and began adding chocolate powder to it.

"Sleep well, dear?" Her mother, Sabine, asked.

"Mmmph," she got in reply.

"Anything special going on today at school?"

School. Marinette used to enjoy going to school. She saw her friends there. Her class had been extremely close. She wanted to get extremely close to one classmate in particular, and had even managed to give him a kiss on the cheek a few weeks ago. But things had changed since then. The new girl in class, an Italian named Lila Rossi, was on a mission to turn Marinette's classmates against her. Marinette hated liars more than anything else, and Lila tested that every day. From fake injuries to world travels, Lila was able to win the sympathy and admiration of her peers.

Marinette hated it, and Lila knew it. _"People can't resist when they hear what they like to hear,"_ Lila had told her. _"If you don't want to be my friend, fine! But soon you won't have any friends left at all, and trust me, I'll make sure you never get close to Adrien in class or anywhere. You seem a little less dumb than the others so I'll give you one last chance. You're either with me or against me."_ The Adrien that Lila was referring to was Adrien Agreste, boy of her dreams.

"Mmm," Marinette hummed in response to her mother.

"Well, dear, I hope today goes better for you. You've had a really rough time of it these past few days, and if you ever want to talk more about it, your father and I are here for you."

"Thanks, Mom." Marinette drained her bowl, stuffed a croissant in her mouth, and headed downstairs. Waving to her dad as she passed through the bakery, she headed across the street to school.

* * *

At the foot of the steps, Marinette's friends Alya Césaire and Nino Lahiffe were standing around, talking with Adrien. Alya waved at Marinette as she approached the group.

"Hey, girl, glad to see you made it on time again today! That's, what, three days in a row? A new personal record!" Alya teased, putting her arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Hey, Marinette!" Adrien said. He had the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes, but Marinette's heart still skipped a beat when he said her name. She smiled shyly and waved back at him.

"Nino was just telling us about Lila's latest adventure," Adrien said, smiling with one corner of his mouth. _Marinette knows as well as I do that Lila's full of it. I wish she'd come around, though. Everybody in the class seems to find her irresistible for some reason._

"Yeah, dudes," Nino began obliviously. "It sounded really amazing! She was in the park last night and saw a little girl climbing a tree to rescue a cat, and…"

Marinette tuned Nino out and shared a look with Adrien. It seemed that most of the rest of the class was enamored with Lila's tales. _Stories, that's all they are, stories_ , Marinette thought to herself. Thankfully, Adrien knew that Lila was all talk, and shared Marinette's opinion of liars. The only difference between the two was that Adrien wasn't bent on exposing Lila, while Marinette was determined to make the rest of the class see Lila for who she really was.

The bell rang, and the four friends went up the stairs into the school, and sat down in Ms. Bustier's classroom for the first class of the day.

* * *

At lunchtime, Marinette packed up her bag and prepared to head home.

"See you after lunch, girl!" Alya called, skipping out the door with Nino trailing behind her.

"Here, Lila, let me help you with that," came a voice from behind her. Marinette glanced over her shoulder and saw Kim picking up a stack of books.

"Thanks, Kim. You're so sweet for helping me out here. You've certainly made me feel more welcome than our class representative ever did." Her eyes briefly darted to Marinette, and she sniffed. "This project needed a lot of research, and I had to get all these sources from the library! Of course, with my parents traveling the world with me, I could have just written down what I saw myself, but firsthand accounts can't be cited for this project." Lila and Kim moved to the front of the classroom, with Kim giving Marinette a small frown as he passed by.

Once the room was clear, Marinette opened her purse and glared inside. "Tikki, I can't _stand_ this anymore! Kim has known me for _years_ and it's not fair how Lila is worming her way into my relationships with my friends!"

"You're right, Marinette, it's not fair," Tikki sympathized. "You have every right to be mad, but Adrien's right - exposing her as a liar isn't going to make it stop! In fact, it might even make you look worse to your friends. There's got to be another way to get Lila to stop - or at least get your friends back," Tikki demurred.

"I'm going to go kill her! With kindness," Marinette added quickly, tossing her backpack onto her shoulders and heading out the door towards where Lila and Kim were headed.

"Hey guys!" Marinette called out. Catching up to Lila and Kim, she asked, "How do you think you did on that project? It was pretty tough, don't you agree?"

Kim's eyes narrowed. "Why are you so interested all of a sudden, Marinette? Do you want to know if Lila got a bad grade so you can hold it over her head, too? You know, ever since she came back, you've had it in for her. Maybe you should just leave her be. Not everybody is interested in being your friend."

Marinette started. "Kim, it was just a simple question! I can't believe you'd jump down my throat like that."

"Like I said, Marinette, I'm not interested." He turned and continued toward the library. Lila turned around and for the briefest of moments gave Marinette a sly smile, one that said _I'm keeping my promise, and I'm winning._

"Did you want to join us tonight, Lila?" Kim asked her. "A bunch of us are getting together to hang out and play games. You're more than welcome."

"No thanks, Kim… I have plans tonight. Since I missed so much school, I have a private tutor who is helping me catch up. He's helping me learn so much," she purred.

Anybody watching Marinette closely would have sworn they saw steam coming out of her ears.

* * *

After lunch, the rest of the school day passed uneventfully. When the final bell rang, Kim, Max, Rose, Juleka, and Mylène all left in a group, headed over to Kim's house to hang out. Lila watched them go, and smirked at Marinette before she headed out the door herself. Alya and Nino left hand-in-hand, as was the usual for the past couple of weeks. Adrien begged off doing anything, saying that he had extra piano practice that night to prepare for a charity recital that his father was holding in a couple of weeks. Dejected, Marinette headed home, climbed up to her room, and pulled out her homework.

 _It's starting to feel like being Ladybug is my only refuge from this hell that Lila is putting me through. Granted, she doesn't like me as Ladybug either, but at least I get to interact with people who like me and are happy to see me! Right now all I seem to have is Alya and my parents. And Alya has Nino, so she's busy more often than not, and my parents have the bakery, so they're always working. Even if I were closer to Adrien, his father has him so busy these days I don't think I'd see much of him either. Where did all of this go wrong? Should I have just let Lila steamroll the class and keep my friendships, or should I have stood up for what I believed was right? I certainly can't have it both ways…_

 _...But standing up for what I believe is right is what makes me Ladybug. If I had given up when Stoneheart and his minions were rampaging through the city, or not gotten all the allies I could have to face Hawk Moth at the Tower, we'd all be in a much different place right now! And I'm not sure I could live with myself if that happened…_

 _Cat Noir said it was him and me against the world when we fought Scarlet Moth. I could use a partner against the world right now, because mine is crashing down. Maybe Hawk Moth will send an akuma and Kitty and I can talk through some of this. Plus, kicking akuma butt would certainly help me get rid of some of this pent-up tension…_

Having failed to even write her name on the top of her worksheet, Marinette stared off into space, wondering what her Kitty was doing at that moment, not knowing that her life as she knew it was about to permanently change.

* * *

Adrien was working through a particularly difficult arpeggio sequence. _I give my hand about five more minutes before it cramps up… and then I'll have to look at my homework. At least I don't have a photoshoot this weekend… maybe I can finally get some R &R time. Or just transform and run the rooftops for a bit as Cat Noir. I haven't seen Ladybug in a couple of days. I wonder if she's having as much trouble as I am right now? It wouldn't hurt to talk to her, but I have no way of getting in touch with her outside of the costume. Maybe it would actually be a good thing to see an akuma tonight. I'll probably faceplant on my desk again, but seeing my Lady is totally worth it..._

* * *

Sequestered in a dimly-lit, cavernous room, Lila watched a purple and black butterfly approach her. As she had done so many times before, she grabbed the butterfly and placed it on her earring. An energy signature flared over her face as she waited for instructions from Hawk Moth.

"Volpina, my prize pupil," he began. "You have a very special job tonight. I need your power to cast an illusion of Ladybug in danger."

"As you wish, Hawk Moth," Lila responded. Black and purple magic enveloped her as she assumed her form as Volpina, akuma specializing in illusions and deception.

"One more thing, Volpina: you must cast this illusion outside the bedroom window of Adrien Agreste. And you must not, under any circumstances, be discovered. Do you understand?"

"Loud and clear, Hawk Moth," Volpina smiled. "Let's get to work."

* * *

A large blur of blue, followed by a smaller blur of red and black, caught Adrien's attention as he sat at his piano, rubbing his hands. _What was that? It looked like Ladybug and an akuma - right in my backyard!_

A shriek and a loud crash echoed throughout the neighborhood.

"Cat Noir! HELP!" Ladybug's voice came from outside.

"Plagg! Ladybug's in trouble! We need to go help, now! CLAWS OUT!" Adrien scrambled up from the piano bench and transformed into Cat Noir as he ran to the window. Before he could leap out and join the fight, a metal security shield slammed over the windows and trapped him in his bedroom!

"That won't be necessary, Adrien," a deep voice from behind him spoke up.

Cat Noir whirled on his heels and saw Hawk Moth standing in his room. His brain went into full panic mode. _How did Hawk Moth get into my bedroom? How does he know who I am? What is happening with Ladybug? I need to save her, I need to get out of here, I need to get some help! Hawk Moth kicked both Ladybug's and my butts at the Eiffel Tower… I'm no match for him, even on my home turf! Oh no! Father - Nathalie - my bodyguard! I hope they're alright!_

"Stand down, Adrien. I'm not here to hurt you." The energy signature illuminated his face and he muttered something under his breath. Once the energy signature faded, he looked at Adrien again. "In fact, I'm here to help you. You have great talent, Adrien. By all accounts you are an excellent Cat Noir. Wouldn't you like to be an even better Cat Noir? You are nowhere near the limits of your powers. I can help you cultivate them, master them, develop the abilities that the Miraculous grants you. You have barely scratched the surface."

"Why would you want to make me better? The only reason why I have the Miraculous in the first place is to stop you! Are we not enough of a challenge for you? Aren't you sick of losing yet? Because we will always win!"

"That's where I was going with this, Adrien - _we_ will always win. Join me," Hawk Moth offered.

"Why would I help you destroy Paris? This is my _home_!"

"Who said anything about destroying Paris? That's not what I'm looking for. Don't you know why I want your Miraculous? Why I want Ladybug's Miraculous?"

"You want to rule the world, I assume, like every other two-bit supervillain. I've seen enough movies."

"Hardly. Has the Guardian not told you what happens when you get both the Ladybug and the Black Cat Miraculous?"

"N… n… no…", Cat Noir stammered. _Where is he going with this? Doesn't he just want to stop us from superheroing? And how does he know about the Guardian?_

"Has _Ladybug_ not told you what happens when you combine your Miraculous?"

"I'm sure she would have told me if it were more important than getting yours!"

"Adrien, Adrien… why do they not trust you? Are you nothing more than a sidekick to them? Expendable? Replaceable?"

"I'M NOT! I'M NOT JUST A SIDEKICK!"

 _Struck a nerve there,_ Hawk Moth noted. "Adrien, it's OK. I trust you. More than your so-called _partner_ and _Guardian_ do." His words dripped with venom. "When you combine the two Miraculous, you are granted a wish. Your wish can be anything you want… wealth… power…" He paced back and forth, approaching Cat Noir with each pass. He stopped and fixed the young superhero with his gaze. "You can even bring back someone from the dead."

Hawk Moth's voice became gentle. "Is there anyone you miss, Adrien? More than anything in the world?"

Cat Noir's eyes opened wide. _Yes_ , he thought to himself.

"What would you give to bring her back, Adrien?"

 _How did he know…? Well, it's pretty common knowledge that Mother has been gone for a while. And to be honest, I would love to have her around again. Father would be more pleasant. LIFE would be more pleasant. I'm getting used to how it is now, but to have what I have now and also have my Mother would be amazing._ "I… don't know," he admitted. "It would make me happy. It would make my father happy." His voice broke. "I try so hard to make Father happy, but I know I can't give him what he really wants deep down. I'll never replace her."

"Actually, Adrien… you can give him what he really wants. What _I_ really want. Emilie Agreste."

Adrien froze. "What could you possibly want with my mother?"

"I want her back more than anyone else in the world, Adrien."

"More than Father? I doubt that," Adrien scoffed.

"I would say I want her back as much as Gabriel Agreste wants her back, Adrien. And I'm one hundred percent certain on that, because… _I_ am Gabriel Agreste. Detransform, Adrien, and we'll talk more. Now."

* * *

 _Father… is Hawk Moth? Hawk Moth is my father? I've been fighting HIM for how long, now? I've been living under the same roof as my most hated enemy for months! Can I take him now? Can I call Ladybug and get her over here?_ Cat Noir reached behind his back for his baton.

"Don't be foolish, Adrien. Your hero friends barely escaped when they faced me at the Eiffel Tower. You know that alone, you are no match for me. Detransform. NOW," Hawk Moth ordered.

 _I'm trapped. Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense. Let's see where this goes, and if I can get out of this with my Miraculous and my life._ "Claws in," Cat Noir muttered. A flash of green light later, and Adrien stood in his bedroom, with Plagg floating next to, him, wide-eyed and mouth open.

"Good… good… now, let's get right to your training as a Miraculous holder. Your inexperience and lack of understanding of the relationship between a Miraculous holder and a kwami is holding you back. Command your kwami that he not do anything reckless. You can do that, you know. You're not subject to your kwami's whims. In fact, as long as you wear your Miraculous, your kwami must obey you."

"I'd never do that to him! I know too well what it's like to be caged up and told what to do all the time. I could never do that to my friend!"

"But Adrien, your kwami owes you. Don't you know that it's because of your kwami not staying close to you that we found out about you?"

"Wait, what are you talking about? His fault? _We?_ "

Nathalie entered the room behind Hawk Moth. "I saw it in the kitchen last night, looking for food. Really, Adrien, you must take better care of your things."

Adrien sputtered. "Plagg's not a _thing!_ And, and…" He looked at Plagg. "You wandered the house without me?"

"Sorry, Adrien," Plagg whispered. "You were asleep and I was hungry and out of cheese."

"Plagg! Oh, man… oh, man. And _Nathalie?_ You're in on this, too?"

"I support your father in all of his endeavors," she replied simply.

Adrien sighed. _I'm really stuck, here. I don't see a way out. I hope this works._ "Plagg, I order you to stay within earshot at all times… and to not use Cataclysm when I am not transformed." He wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry, too, Plagg."

"Adrien… you must convince Ladybug to give you her Miraculous. Or take them from her. One way or another, they will be mine. And you will help."

"What if I don't want to help? Why don't you just akumatize me and have me fight her?"

"You are far more valuable to me as a Miraculous holder than as a mindless akuma, Adrien."

Adrien flinched.

"Speaking of akumas," Hawk Moth continued, "...ah, yes, here she is. Volpina, come in and meet our new friend."

Volpina entered the room and flanked Hawk Moth on the other side of Nathalie. Hawk Moth raised his arms, causing Volpina to transform back to Lila. A black butterfly flew away, magic slowly dissolving behind it as it became pure again. Lila watched it and whispered, mockingly, "Bye-bye, little butterfly." She chuckled and fixed Adrien with a gaze that was part mirthful, part dangerous. "Hello, Adrien."

 _Oh, crap. How long has she been working with him? I know she was Volpina throughout the whole Heroes Day fiasco, and she was Chameleon after that… but she was working WILLINGLY with him? Or was Hawk Moth just taking advantage of the poor girl?_ Anger bubbled up inside Adrien and he hissed, "Hello, Lila."

"Now, now, children, we have to play nice together if we need anything done. Lila, you and Adrien are going to be spending a lot of time together." He chuckled and turned to Adrien. "You don't have to decide right now. But like I said earlier, I trust you more than your partner and Guardian ever did. You may give me your answer tomorrow night."

"And what if I decide to not join you?"

"Then I'll take your Miraculous by force," Hawk Moth said casually. "It might put a cramp in your fencing and piano lessons, though… and you'd have to learn to write with a different hand, too."

 _That's very clearly a threat. Well, then. Where would I go if I said no? I don't have any friends that I could stay with, and they'd be suspect first, anyway. If I tapped into my money, I'd leave a paper trail and be found immediately. I could shack up with Master Fu, but I don't even know how to get in touch with him! Plus, I don't want to accidentally lead Hawk Moth to the Guardian of the Miraculous… I bet if he has the other three Miraculous, there's probably more somewhere. Or worse, Hawk Moth would probably force him to give up everything he knows about the Miraculous, and then things would REALLY go off the deep end. I'm so screwed._

 _Becoming Cat Noir is the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. If I give up the Miraculous, then that ends, and not only have I failed Paris, I've also failed myself as a person. I'll have failed Ladybug, Master Fu… I won't be able to show my face anywhere._

 _But on the other hand, I'll have Mother back. Father and I will have a chance at a normal relationship. It's not like akumas leave any permanent damage, other than people's memories of what happened. But they're all healed, and if Hawk Moth just stops with the attacks, then the past couple of years will be nothing more than a memory, or funny stories to tell the grandkids. "Hey, did we ever tell you about the time a giant ice cream monster attacked Paris?"_

 _WE'LL know, though… Father and I. I don't know if he'll tell Mother or not. What would she say if she knew that her husband spent months on end terrorizing Paris to get a couple of teenagers to give him jewelry? I'm not sure if she would approve of that… but all I've wanted for the longest time now is to be part of a family._

 _Would Father actually be a parent to me? Or would he continue on his current path? Minus the super-villainry, of course. Or maybe he keeps being a super-villain part time until he gets all of the Miraculous?_

 _This is so hard. I'm in an impossible position here. I'm being forced to choose between my greatest desire and my best self. I need to find a way to talk to Master Fu tomorrow… and Ladybug, if she'll let me._

"Very well, Hawk Moth. I'll give you your answer tomorrow night."

"In the meantime, Adrien, send your kwami with me. If you shout, your kwami will still be within earshot, but then again… so will I. So, don't try anything. Give Nathalie your phone as well. You can have both back in the morning."

"See you tomorrow at school, Adrien," Lila smirked, turning on her heel and leaving.

Adrien handed his phone to Nathalie and watched her leave. "Go with Hawk Moth, Plagg. I'll see you in the morning." He choked back a sob as the kwami slowly floated out of the room, followed by Hawk Moth.

The bedroom door closed and locked.

The metal over the windows remained.

And Adrien Agreste, hero of Paris, threw himself onto his bed and cried his eyes out.


	2. Rumours

The next morning, Marinette was up before Tikki or her alarm clock rudely awakened her. _That was not the most restful sleep. I wonder who Lila's going to turn against me today? Maybe she will be sick. Maybe *I* will be sick. No… I have to show up._

She turned to Tikki. "Maybe things won't be so bad today!"

"That's the spirit, Marinette! I believe in you!" Tikki nuzzled Marinette's cheek.

Marinette got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"You're up bright and early this morning, darling!" Sabine smiled, handing her daughter a mug of hot chocolate.

Marinette took the mug and returned the smile. "Thanks, Mom. I didn't really sleep the greatest, so I've actually been up a while now." She sipped the cocoa. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, honey! What are mothers for?"

"Did you have any… social problems in school when you were my age?"

"Ohh… let me think. You know, I wasn't the most popular person in school growing up. I didn't fit in with any of the right groups! I didn't play sports, I wasn't much of an artist, and I wasn't smart enough to be with the nerds." She hummed in reflection. "I guess you could say I was lucky that I had a friend in each of those groups, but I didn't hang out much as a group with those people. Are you telling me that Class Representative Marinette Dupain-Cheng is having social issues? You've got such a strong group of friends; I can't imagine them not being there for you."

 _You'd be surprised._ "I feel bad that… well… it's hard to explain. You know?"

"Boy issues?" Sabine said with a twinkle in her eye. "Adrien?"

"Ummm… well, that's part of it, and that will always _be_ part of it, I think… but this is more complicated than that. I just feel like… I'm having a hard time keeping my friends. Does that make sense?"

"You're a teenager, honey. People grow apart a bit at that age as they figure out who they truly are. Friendships and relationships coil, knot, and loosen over time. It's a natural occurrence. The trick is to value the friendships that you have when you have them, and not wish for anything more than what others are willing to give you. Live your life and stick to your guns, and you'll find that the people who want to be your friend will naturally come to you."

"Thanks, Mom." Marinette drained her mug and gave her mom a quick hug, before shouldering her backpack and heading downstairs. _Those people may naturally come to me, but what about the people who are being led away?_

* * *

Marinette was already seated at her desk when Alya and Nino came in, hand in hand. Nino plopped his bag down on his front-row desk while Alya sat next to Marinette, directly behind him.

"Hey, girl, everything OK? You looked really down yesterday when we left. Sorry I didn't text you, Nino and I were kind of… wrapped up." Alya winked and nudged Marinette with her elbow. "Seriously, girl, not even a smile for that one? I thought for sure that was going to at least get something out of you. You haven't been yourself for a couple of weeks now, and I swear on my job as your best friend, you are going to SPILL. IT."

"Thanks, Alya… you know I can't lie to you. I've been better, so maybe we can talk later today about it?" _If Lila doesn't get to you first._ She leaned forward and tapped Nino on the shoulder. "Have you heard from Adrien this morning? It's not like him to be late."

Without turning around or looking up from his phone, Nino replied "I haven't heard anything. Maybe he had something last-minute come up."

 _Not Nino too!_ Marinette anguished. _This day is starting off to be a disaster._

Just then, Adrien wandered into the classroom.

Marinette gasped at his appearance. _He looks like death warmed over… no, that's not it. He's not sick - he's scared. Pale... dark circles under his eyes... jumpy... vacant stare… something must have really spooked him._ Her train of thought was interrupted by Lila entering the room, stopping briefly to look at Adrien and smile, then continuing to her seat.

Kim, Max, Rose, Juleka, and Mylène all gathered around her. Kim piped up, "Last night was so rad, but we missed you, Lila! Will you be able to make it over tonight?"

"Oh, I'm sorry… I think I have another lesson with my… private tutor tonight." Lila smiled. "I'll let you know if that changes, but I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time with him catching up. Something he was working with me on finally clicked, so we'll be moving forward a lot faster!"

Adrien shuddered visibly. Nino leaned over and stage-whispered "Dude, do you need a coat or something? You look awful."

"Tactful as always, Nino," Alya admonished him.

"Huh? Sorry," Adrien looked around at his friends. "I'm fine. Just… just got a lot on my mind is all." He glanced over Marinette's shoulder at the crowd of classmates.

Just then, Ms. Bustier walked into the classroom carrying a hat. "Good morning, class! Settle down, please, and take your seats. I'm glad to see that we're all in attendance today, as the project I'm assigning will make up one-third of your final grade in this class." Raising her voice slightly to speak over the groans of her students, she continued, "You'll be working in randomly assigned pairs, which I will be drawing out of this hat right now. Please listen up."

The teacher reached into the hat and began pulling out slips of paper, reading off names as she went.

Marinette crossed her fingers underneath her desk for good luck. _Please please please let Adrien be my partner!_

"Chloé Bourgeois… you'll be partnered with… Ivan. And before you ask, _no_ , you may not trade. These pairings are final."

Chloé opened her mouth as if to say something, then shut it.

"Kim… you'll be partnered with… Nathaniel."

"Nino… your partner is Alix."

Marinette watched Nino turn around and whisper, "Dude, so _close!_ " to his girlfriend. Alya rolled her eyes in response and reached out to pull his hat down over his eyes. "Ow! Dude, my glasses! Not cool!"

"Sabrina, your partner is… Max."

"Mylène, you'll be working with Rose."

Marinette crossed more fingers, if that were even possible. _Five people left, come on..._

"Juleka, you'll be with Alya."

Marinette's heart started thudding. _Not Lila, not Lila, not Lila..._

"Marinette, your partner is…" Ms. Bustier fumbled with the two slips of paper left in the hat.

Marinette squeaked.

Ms. Bustier drew one of the slips, unfolded it, and read off the name. "Adrien."

Alya and Marinette shared a fist-bump underneath the table. Marinette barely suppressed a squeal.

"We have an odd number of students this year, so there will have to be one group of three. Who would like Lila to join their group?"

Lila immediately spoke up, "I want to work with Adrien."

Adrien shuddered again and started stammering, a panicked look on his face.

Most of the class missed it, though, since Kim, Max, Rose, Juleka, Mylène, and Nino all offered to have Lila join their group.

"Very well, class, since Rose and Mylène are in the same group and both offered, we'll have Lila join them. Thank you, girls, for being so generous in volunteering. Class, please move seats to be next to your partner or partners."

Marinette thought she saw a shadow of a frown cross Lila's face. Lila smiled and said, "Thank you, girls! I really appreciate it."

 _She's lying_ , Marinette thought. _Why does she want to be Adrien's partner so bad?_

Alya squeezed Marinette on the arm and whispered "Good luck!" as she moved to take the seat that Nino vacated. Adrien was staring at a piece of paper, idly doodling, while bouncing his knee rapidly.

"Hi, Adrien! Looks like we're partners," Marinette began.

Adrien glanced over at her. Without meeting her eyes, he responded, "Yeah… partners."

 _What on earth is this all about?_ Marinette wondered. _Is he ashamed of being my partner? Just when I thought I was getting somewhere with that boy, too!_ "At least Lila's not in our group, right? I can't imagine having to work with her."

"Working with Lila…" Adrien trailed off, and looked over his shoulder at the girl, an unreadable expression on his face.

Marinette's jaw hung open. _Him, too! But we just talked about her! "As long as we both know the truth, does it really matter?" What has gotten into him?_ "Well, um… OK. Let's get our assignment and strategize."

"Oh, uh, yeah… about that, um… take notes? Please? I've gotta… do something." With a grimace, he picked up his bag and ran out of the room, leaving Marinette to stare at the door.

 _What is going ON here?_ Marinette wondered to herself.

* * *

Adrien rounded the corner of the school and opened his shirt to talk to Plagg. "Take me to Master Fu. Now," he commanded.

"I'm not sure that's a smart idea, Adrien. It's bad enough that Ladybug knows where he is. The Guardian's location must be kept as secret as possible, otherwise Hawk Moth can compromise him!"

"PLAGG! I know you know where he is. I need to talk with him. This is important, the most important thing we have right now. More important than Camembert. I don't want to force you, but I will."

"Kid… this is a bad idea. Let me go and tell the Guardian that you need him, or we can send Ladybug to get him, and he can meet you and - _ack_!" Plagg choked on his last word.

"Plagg, it's an even worse idea that you leave my side right now. And we have no idea when the next time we see Ladybug will be. This is the most important thing in the world to me. Take me to Master Fu. That's an order," Adrien whispered, closing his eyes.

The black cat kwami sighed. "Very well… master." He whispered an address in his holder's ear and flew silently into Adrien's shirt.

Adrien pulled out his phone, punched the address into his map application, and hit Start.

* * *

 _What was that all about? I hope that Lila didn't get to him, too. Please say it isn't so, say it isn't so! I thought we were on the same side! What on earth could she have possibly done to get him? Just the other day he told me that as long as he and I knew the truth, nothing else mattered. Well, he didn't seem to want to be my partner, and he kept looking back at Lila… who said she wanted to be HIS partner! Something's fishy here. I wonder if something happened at home with his father. But why would Lila be involved with that? Ohhh… this doesn't make any SENSE!_ Marinette turned behind her to face Alya and Juleka. They were deep in conversation over the project, so Marinette scribbled the words TALK LATER on a piece of paper and shoved it under Alya's nose.

The brunette blinked, read it, looked at Marinette, and nodded.

Knowing that at least someone was still on her side, Marinette took the project sheet and attempted to fill out as many details as she could. _Might as well get started on this. If Adrien's in trouble, he'll need as much help as possible so he doesn't fail the class and get in deeper._

* * *

Once Adrien got his bearings, he switched his phone off. _Can't afford to be tracked right now, this is too important._ He found his way to the apartment, located on the right bank of the Seine. Climbing the stairs, he knocked on the door with trepidation.

"Come in, please," came a voice from the other side of the door.

Adrien entered the apartment and looked around. The furnishings were simple, almost spartan. There was a sleeping mat on the floor, a small credenza with a record player on top of it, a bookcase, some plants, and a screen. The man who had bade him entry sat cross-legged on the mat.

"Hello, Cat Noir. It is an… unexpected surprise that you are here today. How may I help you?"

Plagg flew out from Adrien's shirt. "I'm sorry, Master Fu. He ordered me to bring him here! This one really isn't my fault!"

Master Fu stroked his beard. "Ordered, eh? That is unlike you, Adrien. Please, sit down and unburden yourself."

"Master, I don't agree with him being here. He's in a tough place right now but he is endangering you, the Miraculous, the kwamis…"

"That is enough, Plagg. Go wait in the other room with Wayzz, please." He motioned to Adrien. "Please, sit down."

Adrien sat down across from Fu and mumbled, "Did you know?"

"Pardon?"

"Did you know? When you gave me my Miraculous?"

"Adrien, I do not understand what you are talking about. What is troubling you?"

"Why did you give me my Miraculous?"

"Adrien… I gave you your Miraculous for a number of reasons. One of the most important reasons is that even though you were experiencing a time of great personal distress, you put all of that on hold in order to help an old man in trouble. You have proven time and time again over the past few months that you are always willing to drop whatever you are doing to help someone in need. In short, I gave you your Miraculous because you are a true hero."

"I don't feel like a hero all the time, Master."

Fu chuckled. "Well, young Adrien, that is to be expected. You are a teenage boy with emotions and mood swings common in adolescents."

"No, it's not that!" Adrien blushed. "I mean… heroes are supposed to be selfless and always self-sacrificing, and I get that… but something happened. And part of me doesn't want to be selfless right now."

"Adrien, what happened? I'm not sure if I can help you if you're not being open with me."

"I have an opportunity… to do something that will help me get something I've wanted for a long time now. But if I take that opportunity, I feel like I'll be betraying everything I've done since I became Cat Noir. And I'm worried about that for a couple of reasons, Master."

"Go on, Adrien. I am listening."

"The person who is offering this opportunity is someone I always thought was a good person. But over the past couple of years, he's been getting slowly…" _Evil_. "...not as good as I thought. And… I know that the Miraculous you gave me is about destruction and bad luck. Does this mean that, because I want this so bad, that I'm giving in to some sort of influence that the Miraculous has over me?" _Sorry, Plagg, but I have to ask._

"Adrien, the Miraculous itself does not affect its holder. The Miraculous is just an instrument through which the kwami can interact with people. This means that your kwami can influence you, but the Miraculous is just an object. A very powerful one, to be sure, but just an object all the same."

"Can kwamis influence for good and evil, then, Master?"

"Kwamis are created whenever an idea, concept, or emotion is discovered. For example, your kwami was created when the concept of destruction came about. Ladybug's kwami was created with the concept of creation. My kwami, Wayzz, is the kwami of protection."

"What about Hawk Moth's kwami, Master?"

"Nooroo is the kwami of transmission. This is what allows Hawk Moth to create akuma, by transmitting negative energy into his vessels. Normally, the holder of the Butterfly Miraculous imbues his vessels with positive energy."

"So Hawk Moth's kwami isn't evil, then…"

"No, kwamis themselves are neither good nor evil. Since what they embody are strictly concepts without an absolute moral value, it is up to the Miraculous wearer to decide how they are used. That said, kwamis are highly intelligent and are able to discern the hearts of their holders. If their holder is a good person, then you will find the kwami to be much more personable and willing to help out. If the holder is a bad person, the kwami will be more reluctant, although they will still be magically bound to the Miraculous wearer."

"I… understand, Master. I think."

"That is one of the reasons why I chose you to be Cat Noir, Adrien. You are a good person who has earned the trust of the people of Paris many times over. Even though you may be troubled now, you will always choose the right path. Even though he may not appear it, your kwami is very wise and has thousands of years of experience. Listen to and learn from him."

Adrien looked at the floor and nodded.

"Is there anything else I can help you with today, Adrien?"

"I don't think so, Master." Adrien paused. "Do you know who my father is?"

"Your father is a famous man, Adrien. Aside from what has been said in the media about him, I know nothing. Why do you ask?"

Adrien drew a deep breath. _Tell him. TELL HIM!_

"...No reason. Thanks, Master."

Adrien stood and opened his shirt. Plagg silently flew to his regular hiding place. The pair exited the apartment and began the long walk home, neither feeling any better than when they arrived.

Master Fu turned to Wayzz. "We are in great danger here, Wayzz. It is time for us to find a new home for the Miraculous, and quickly. There is no time to waste!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Wayzz responded, floating after Fu as he began to gather his things.

* * *

Marinette waited as long as she could outside the school while Alya and Nino said the sort of goodbyes that teenagers in their first romance could say. When she felt like she was about to burst, she shot Alya a Look and began walking home. As she began to cross the street, her best friend's footfalls caught up to her. "Sorry, girl, you know how insecure boys are. Gotta tell them and tell them again that I'm only leaving for a little bit and they think it's the end of the world." She laughed, then turned serious. "Do you know what was going on with Adrien earlier? He left all of a sudden, and hasn't responded to any of Nino's texts."

They entered the bakery, waved hello to Tom and Sabine, and helped themselves to a pastry each. "Girl talk," Marinette said to her mother, then kissed her on the cheek and led Alya through the back of the bakery and up the stairs to their apartment.

Once they got settled in Marinette's room, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. "Alya, what have I done? First, I'm losing all of my friends one by one. Now Adrien can't even stand to be on the same team with me? I swear, that Lila has gone through and is taking my friends away, one at a time."

"Whoa, slow down! I think you're Marinette-overthinking-things again. First of all, I can't believe how jealous you are of Lila. That's not like you at all. In fact, the only other time I can remember you doing anything like this was when you took the Ladybug role away from Chloé for the Clara Nightingale video. Look… I'm not saying you're crazy or over-reacting, but give it some time. Lila's new. She's traveled the world. Look at the last time someone new joined the class. I made friends with you, and then made friends with everybody by association. Adrien was already friends with Chloe, and he got a bad rap right off the bat. Maybe everyone else in the class knows they screwed up by treating Adrien badly at the beginning, and they want to make sure they get it right with Lila. It doesn't mean that you're losing friends, it just means that not everyone in the class can be *only* your friend. Does that make sense?"

"You may be right, Alya, but… there are things I know about Lila that you don't." _Things I can't tell you, because I found them out when I was Ladybug and before you were Rena Rouge._

"Like what, that she was akumatized? Like everyone else in the class _and_ our teacher?"

"No, it's not that. Her first day back, she cornered me in the bathroom, and threatened to take my friends away from me if I wouldn't be on her side."

"What? OK, girl, you have got to be kidding me. I know that girls can be vicious, but it's all bark and no bite. Did you ever look at it from her perspective? Even before she came back to Paris, you were _all over her_ when she was video chatting. Trying to disprove her stories, poking at her words… just digging and digging at her. She probably thinks that you're her biggest threat to a normal social life. My sister Nora went to military school before she got into martial arts, and some of the people she met there were _scary_. She says that the social hierarchy in military school is strange. Since a lot of kids move around a lot or come from broken homes, they don't get a chance to learn how to make friends. They tend to distrust popular kids because they're jealous of them. They act out. They might even say some really stupid things because they don't know how to deal with their emotions. Maybe Lila's jealous of _you_. She wants you to be her friend? Then _be her friend_ , Marinette. You've managed to visit Chloé freaking Bourgeois at her place on more than one occasion, girl. I'm _sure_ you can try to be pleasant to Lila."

Marinette blew her nose and sniffled. She said quietly, "Lila told me that she would make sure I never got close to Adrien... in class or anywhere. You heard her today, she said she wanted to work with Adrien, and Adrien kept looking at her after the partnerships were finalized. It's like he couldn't wait to be around her! And then he wouldn't say more than two words at a time to me, and just up and left! I don't know what's going on. This is _worse_ than the time he asked me about asking Kagami out on a date. At least _then_ , he was talking to me. Now, he can't even look me in the eye. Am I that bad of a person? I thought we had a real connection at the Heroes Day picnic. I thought I had a connection with _everybody_ at that picnic… and Adrien gave that speech about how wonderful he thinks I am… and I finally worked up the courage to give him a kiss on the cheek… is that all _gone_ now?" The tears started flowing again.

"Oh, honey… you have got it _bad_. Tell you what… just lie down and try to de-stress for a bit. Things will work out. If it was meant to be, it will be. Just keep being the Marinette you've always been and Adrien won't be able to resist you." Alya led Marinette over to her lounge and draped a blanket over her friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an apartment near the west side of the city… a family photo fell off the wall. Again.

" _UGH!_ That's the third time today that truck has come rumbling through here! I'm going to call city hall and complain about this excessive road work."

But before our writer friend could pick up the phone, the loud beeping of construction equipment reversing echoed through the house, waking up a sleeping 5-year-old.

Fists slammed down on the keyboard as a few blocks away, a circular window opened, releasing a butterfly into the wind…

"I _SWEAR_! If I can just sit down for FIVE MINUTES without being interrupted, this would be the greatest day of my life! I've plotted, I've outlined, I've revised… and now that it's time for me to get this story out of my head and onto paper, the city decides to do emergency road work! How will my faithful readers ever be able to read this, my finest work…!"

His rant was interrupted by a magical butterfly, flitting through the window and landing on his ring. The writer's eyes darkened and an energy signature appeared over his face...

* * *

Marinette lay face down on her lounge, with Alya slowly rubbing circles on her back. Her soothing motions were interrupted by a frantic buzzing coming from the cell phone in her pocket.

"Oh, shoot, girl… my Ladyblog followers are messaging me about an akuma. I've gotta go cover it."

"Hmm? Oh… akuma. Yeah." _This is a thing I'll have to do, I guess._

"I'll check in with you afterwards, okay? Stay safe," Alya finished before bounding down the stairs and out the bedroom door.

"You too," Marinette called after her. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and summoned her transformation.

Seconds later, Ladybug left the bakery rooftop towards a vantage point where she could track and find the akuma. As she got closer to the Trocadero, she noticed that people were encased in transparent bubbles. Checking for anyone that looked like an akuma, she swung down to the closest bubble to talk to the person trapped inside. _Lucky me! I recognize him..._

"Mr. Ramier? Are you OK?" Ladybug shouted into the bubble.

Mr. Ramier looked at her and nodded, but then covered his ears and shook his head. He pointed in the direction of the Trocadero Gardens, then gave the young superheroine a thumbs-up.

Ladybug smiled and waved. She swung to the top of the Musée de l'Homme, where she was shortly joined by Cat Noir. "Hey, Kitty," she greeted.

"My Lady," he said in response. "Any idea what's going on?"

"I swung down and talked to Mr. Ramier… he's in one of the bubbles. He motioned that he was doing fine, but he couldn't hear anything. So it looks like the bubbles block out sound, but not light or air."

 _One of these days, I'm going to ask Hawk Moth what the point of him giving out all these useless powers was. He hit the nail on the head exactly once when he was Scarlet Moth, but we never found out exactly how he managed that. Why hasn't he done anything like that again?_ "OK, so we just need to find who the akuma is and put a stop to this!" He scanned the ground intently and saw a tall figure pointing to people and casting bubbles over them. "Found him!"

The two heroes jumped down, spinning their weapons. "Oh, there you are, Ladybug and Cat Noir! My name is Writer's Block! The world is too loud, and you just contribute to the noise! Give me your Miraculous, and then there will be peace… and quiet."

"You think you're going to get away with our Miraculous that easy, huh? Well, sorry to _burst your bubble_ , but that's not going to happen today!" Cat Noir jumped out of the way of Writer's Block's attack, but there was a civilian behind him who took the brunt and wound up encased in the bubble. "Crap! Sorry!" _This is the first time someone's gotten hurt because of me… I'm really not on my game._

"He can't hear you, Cat Noir! You can apologize afterward. Let's get this guy taken care of! Lucky Charm!" She tossed her yo-yo in the air. The Lucky Charm magic caused a red-and-black-spotted megaphone to appear. _If this guy wants quiet, then he must be really distracted by noise. Let's try to throw him off of his game._ She dodged an attack and circled back next to her partner. "Hey, Kitty - let's use this to… _whaaaagh!_ "

Cat Noir tackled her out of the way of the akuma's attack, causing her to drop the megaphone! They both ran to pick it up, but Ladybug was caught in the barrage and was swallowed up in a bubble! "CAT NOIRRRRRRRR!" she yelled. _Ohcrapohcrapohcrap!_ Her eyes traced outside the bubble to the megaphone, then to her partner, who was face to face with Writer's Block, right hand bubbling with black energy!

" _Cat_ -ch me if you can," Cat Noir hissed. Baton spinning, he advanced slowly on the akuma.

Hawk Moth's energy signature flared over the akuma's eyes. "Simmer down, Cat Noir," the akuma said. "Hawk Moth has a message for you. He says, _Your inexperience is starting to cost you. Don't let others get hurt any more. Do what you know is right. You know where to meet me._ " The energy signature faded, and black magic engulfed the akuma, leaving a very confused struggling writer behind. A white butterfly flew off into the distance.

The bubbles holding the akuma victims prisoner disappeared. Cat Noir heard a call of "Miraculous Ladybug!" from behind him, and felt his spirits lift slightly as Ladybug's magic washed over the city. _I'll never get tired of that. I wish her magic could take away the last 24 hours._ He sighed.

"Pound it?" Ladybug offered. "Kitty?" she prodded when Cat Noir didn't respond. She gasped when Cat Noir turned around and she saw the look on his face. _Oh my goodness, he looks terrible._ She grabbed his left hand and pulled him out of the plaza and into a secluded corner. "Cat Noir… what's going on? What was the akuma saying to you? Why did Hawk Moth just release the victim like that?" _He was really out of it during that fight. Maybe he's been having as rough a time of it as I have been, recently._ "If you're upset about that civilian that got hit… it's OK, he's better now. Accidents happen," she attempted to reassure him.

"Oh yeah, they happen alright," he whispered. Tears welled up in his eyes. _How can I tell her? Oh, hi, Ladybug, my dad's Hawk Moth, and he knows who I am, too! And it was because his assistant - who I used to think was a pain because she kept on my about my schedule - was actually evil just like him and told him after she found my kwami. Let's not forget that I wasn't able to keep an eye on my kwami long enough to keep him from being discovered, so I failed you and the Guardian. The worst part of it is that I know why Hawk Moth wants our Miraculous. And I'm not sure if you know this or not, but he wants to make a wish, and the wish he wants to make is something that I've wanted for a very long time, now. I said I would give anything to have Mother back. But giving up my life, my freedom, my Lady, my friends… everything I hold dear and valuable? Almost everything I cherish… except Mother, who I would be getting back in the deal._

 _This is my fault. My burden. My opportunity. I have to fix this myself. We can't share our secret identities until Hawk Moth is vanquished, or stops altogether. And if he stops because I get the Miraculous? Then I can tell my Lady who I am. But I won't know who *she* is… and there's no guarantee that she'll want anything to do with me if I get the Miraculous from her and use it selfishly._

 _All my life, I've done what others have wanted me to do. Isn't it right, just once, to do something for myself?_

He didn't notice her hand on his shoulder. He put his left hand on top of it and asked, gently, "You remember how, when we were fighting Scarlet Moth's army, I said it was you and me against the world?"

"Of course I do, Kitty. We'll always have each other's backs."

"...Ever feel like the world was going to win?"

Ladybug stepped back, eyes wide. _This isn't the playful, teasing, positive Kitty I know. Something big has happened to him._ As she opened her mouth, a loud, insistent beeping came from her earrings. "Oh no, Cat Noir! I'm about to transform back! I'll contact you… we'll talk! Bug out!" She threw her yo-yo as hard as she could and zipped off before Cat Noir could respond.

 _Great_ , he thought. _Last time she left me like this she sent the Guardian to talk to me. I've already spoken with him, and it hasn't been any help. Looks like what I have to do is crystal clear, now._ He checked to make sure nobody was looking, detransformed, and started toward home.

* * *

Ladybug landed high on a nearby rooftop as her transformation expired. Catching Tikki, Marinette opened up her purse and got a large chocolate chip cookie out for the tired kwami. Tikki accepted it gratefully, took a bit, and said around a mouthful of cookie, "Do you want to talk about it, Marinette?"

"What I _need_ to do is hurry up and get back to Cat Noir. Or figure out how to get in touch with him. I hope he's not in trouble, Tikki! He looked _really bad_."

"I'm eating as fast as I can, Marinette… give me a few more minutes!"

"I'm _so worried_ about him, Tikki! He dropped a couple of puns, which was good to hear, but he looked… like his world was crumbling around him. Kind of like how I've felt over the past few weeks. He even said that he felt like the world was winning, Tikki! That's not Cat Noir. He's the most positive person I know. Something got to him, big time." Marinette bounced her leg restlessly while waiting for Tikki to finish her cookie.

"OK, Marinette, I'm ready to go-o-o-oooo!" Tikki could barely get her sentence out before Marinette transformed to Ladybug and took off, swinging from rooftop to rooftop, looking for any sign of her distressed partner.

She paused and took out her yo-yo, checking the tracking app. _Nothing. He's not transformed… of course, he summoned Cataclysm, even though he didn't use it. I'll just leave him a message for when he transforms back._ She switched over to the communicator. "Kitty? It's Ladybug. Let me know when you can meet me so we can talk. I'm worried about you."

* * *

Adrien stumbled through the door of his mansion. "Your father is glad to see you got his message, Adrien." Nathalie said by way of greeting. "Where did you go? You weren't at school this afternoon."

 _Whoops._ "Ah, I, um, had to get my phone battery replaced. It died on me all of a sudden, and it took longer than I thought it would. I would have called you, but… yeah, dead phone. That's it."

"And it's fixed now?" she said without looking up from her clipboard.

"Yes, it's fixed. See?" Adrien held up his phone, powering it on.

"Excellent. Of course, regardless of your participation in other… _activities_ … you are still expected to keep up with your other responsibilities. Today it is piano practice for your upcoming recital. Your father will meet with you at seven tonight to discuss… other arrangements."

Adrien sighed and went up to his room. When the door was closed, Plagg flew out of his shirt and over to the other side of the room.

"Plagg…" Adrien started.

"You should probably practice the piano, Adrien," the kwami whispered.

"I have three hours to practice the piano before Father wants to see me. Can we talk?" Adrien pleaded.

"I said all I had to say back at the Guardian's apartment. I'm willing to listen to you, and to answer any of your questions, and I'm obligated to transform you as long as you wear that Miraculous, but nobody says I have to like it or even agree with what you are doing. And I don't." Plagg flew back to Adrien. "You are _pushing people away_ , Adrien. People who _love you_. I can't objectively help you with this. If anything happens to the Miraculous, I'm magically bound to it. If the Miraculous is damaged, I can be damaged. If the Miraculous is destroyed, I won't be able to interact with you. Therefore, while there is a rogue Miraculous holder on the loose, _my first obligation is to protect the Miraculous_. I am biased. Find a friend. _Talk to them_. You know who you can trust. Please. Before anything rash happens." He flew back to the corner of the room. "Now hurry up and practice your piano. No - don't argue. I just heard someone outside the door."

Adrien sat down at the piano, put his phone on top of it, and began playing. The sweet melancholy of Debussy's "Clair de Lune" rang out through the bedroom.

* * *

Adrien was on the couch. He checked his phone. _Six fifty-eight. It feels like I've looked at the clock a million times in the past five minutes, and ten million times in the last twenty. What would happen if I didn't show up? I could call Cat Noir and slip through the window and nobody would know the difference… until Hawk Moth came after me and wrecked half of Paris in the process. Plus, that would put Ladybug in unnecessary danger. And, it's the coward's way out. People can say what they want about Adrien Agreste being a pretty boy, or Cat Noir being a sidekick, but nobody can say that either of us is a coward._

The sound of his door opening snapped him to attention. Nathalie announced, "Your father will see you now, Adrien."

* * *

Adrien stood up and followed Nathalie to his father's office, Plagg floating behind him. Once there, Nathalie directed Adrien to stand at a certain spot in front of the portrait of his mother. She fiddled with the portrait and suddenly Adrien found himself descending through the floor into a dimly-lit, cavernous room. Once his eyes adjusted, he was met with the sinister grin of Hawk Moth.

"Welcome, Adrien. I take it you have decided to accept my offer?"

Adrien closed his eyes. _Ladybug, forgive me_. "Yes, Hawk Moth," he whispered.

"Excellent," Hawk Moth purred. He gestured behind him. "Volpina, please welcome our new student. Adrien will be joining us for our nightly tutoring sessions."

Volpina stepped forward from the shadows and joined Hawk Moth at his side.

"It's time for your first training session, Adrien," Hawk Moth continued. "Please transform. We will be working on extending the time you'll be able to be transformed after you use Cataclysm. Once you master that, you'll be able to use multiple Cataclysms when you're transformed."

"Plagg, claws out." With no fanfare at all, Plagg entered the ring, and a flash of green light left Cat Noir standing in Adrien's place. He ignored the quiet vibrating of the baton at his back. _Ladybug._ "What will you be working with Volpina for? Can't you give her whatever powers you want to?"

"I see that you forget your manners too easily behind that mask of yours, Adrien. Not that it makes any difference to you, but Volpina and I are working on strengthening the psychic bond that I have with each of my akuma. She will be able to bend to my will quicker, be more flexible in battle, and be able to be the public face of Hawk Moth. I'll be able to appear without having to go outside or wait for an akuma to multiply. I'll give Volpina the words, and she will make Hawk Moth speak them to all of Paris!"

"I thought you wanted to get Ladybug's Miraculous. Why would you need to address all of Paris?" _There's something here I'm missing_.

"Why, Adrien, you don't understand. What use is having all of the power of the Miraculous without using it for the greater good? Once I've made my wish, then people all over Paris - or even the world! - will come to me to have their wishes made true too! Imagine, Adrien: No more war, or death, or heartache… or poverty, sickness, or even bad feelings! Everyone will bow down to Hawk Moth and Cat Noir, benevolent rulers for life!"

 _There it is. I knew Father would let the power go to his head. He's too much of a control freak at heart to really let go. I'm going to guess the plan he hasn't told me is to get the rest of the Miraculous and figure out how to be the Guardian for eternity. Master Fu's pretty old; I wonder if he's immortal? Father seems like the kind of person who would want that for himself._

 _I've just scratched the surface here. If I bide my time and wait for the right moment, I can upend Father and his plans, and be the conquering hero of Paris myself! With Ladybug's help, of course. Plus, if I am helping Father, then I can also make sure that Ladybug doesn't get hurt too badly in the process. I'd hate myself forever if she were to be injured or die. This way… this is a calculated risk. And it's one I'm going to have to be willing to take. Standing up to Father… finally, for once in my life. And I'll be truly free._

 _But… Mother..._

* * *

"Let's get to work, Adrien," Hawk Moth intoned. "The first thing you must work on is strengthening your connection to your kwami. Once you do that, you will be able to exert your will over it and better control your transformations. Volpina, fetch that block of wood from the pile over there; he'll need something to use his power on."

"With pleasure, Hawk Moth." Volpina went to an area of the room and returned with some lumber.

"Adrien, you know what to do," Hawk Moth said with a smile.

" _Cataclysm,_ " rasped Cat Noir. Black energy bubbled in his right hand as he reached out toward Volpina.

* * *

Next time:

* Will Adrien follow Plagg's advice?

* How does Cat Noir take to his training?

* What does Ladybug think of all this?


	3. Le Chemin

Sleep did not come easy for Adrien that night. After two grueling hours with Hawk Moth and Volpina, multiple Cataclysms, and then homework on top of it all, he didn't get to bed until about two in the morning. Once he was in bed, he laid there, staring at the ceiling.

 _What have I done? Have I traded my soul to see my Mother again? Or am I doing the right thing? If I help Hawk Mo… Father, then his terrorizing the citizens of Paris will stop. It's the same thing as if we beat him directly, without having to worry about the akuma attacks that shake the city up every few days. So in a way, I'm serving both the citizens of Paris and myself, and I'm also fulfilling my duty to my family. Everybody wins, right?_

 _Well, everybody except Cat Noir wins, that is. Cat Noir loses his reputation as one of Paris' Finest Superheroes. If it were ever to leak out that Cat Noir was Adrien Agreste, that would be bad for the family. But that's not a big deal, because then everyone would also know that Hawk Moth was Gabriel Agreste… and that would be worse. So I think I can count on Father to not reveal my secret identity. Volpina, on the other hand…_

 _What's her stake in this particular game? I know she hasn't liked Ladybug ever since she moved here. Lila's a liar, plain and simple, and Ladybug caught her in at least one lie. Is that reason enough to want to destroy Ladybug? During Heroes Day, she was akumatized by Hawk Moth. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she was just upset about something and he took advantage of her, like he has so many other people in this city. When did she move from unwitting victim to willing accomplice?_

 _Oh, man… I have to get to sleep. I missed a chunk of school yesterday and I'm sure Marinette and Nino are worried about me. I haven't returned Nino's texts yet, but I'll see him soon anyway. And then there was the message on my baton from Ladybug. I didn't get a chance to check it in front of Father… and I'm sure that Plagg is in no mood to transform me right now so I can check. Not after what he just went through. It's a wonder if we'll ever be on speaking terms again. I'll have to figure out a way to get to that message that Ladybug sent me._

He looked at his desk, where the kwami lay shivering on an old t-shirt. _Plagg… has always done his best for me. He may act like he's just a floating stomach, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. Even when he wandered off before the Sandboy attack, he had the best intentions. I can't fault him for that, or for going out and looking for cheese when I was asleep. I doubt anything could have woken me up that night, anyway._

 _The one thing I've always wanted in the world was to make a friend. I was very lucky to have been able to make friends with Plagg and with my classmates. But now… family duty calls, and I feel like I'm back to square one. Plagg isn't speaking to me, I'm blowing off Marinette and Nino, and I can't get in touch with Ladybug either. "Find a friend," Plagg told me. "You know who you can trust." He's right, of course. I *do* know who I can trust. The one person in all of Paris who I visited the night Ladybug broke my heart. She's warming up to me as Adrien, but this is definitely a Cat Noir problem. I hope she won't mind another visit…_

Adrien drifted off to sleep with visions of bluebell eyes and a wide smile in his mind.

* * *

Marinette, for her part, was having a hard time sleeping too. She rolled over on her side and nudged Tikki awake.

"Mmmm… Marinette? Is there an akuma? It's still dark outside!" the red kwami yawned.

"Sorry, Tikki, I've got a lot on my mind and hope I can talk it out with you. Do you mind? I'll pack your favorite cookies for a snack tomorrow!"

The kwami grinned. "Marinette, you know that _all_ cookies are my favorite. But, if some of those double chocolate chunk cookies find their way into your bag, I wouldn't complain! How can I help?"

"You were there when Lila cornered me in the bathroom. Was I just misinterpreting what she said? What do you think?"

"Alya had some good insight, Marinette. And I know that there's stuff you can't talk to Alya about since she doesn't know you're Ladybug. But Lila has been akumatized - three times that we know of. That's an awful lot for anybody - even Chloe was only akumatized twice! For someone who comes across as confident and self-assured as Lila, she shouldn't be feeling as low as you need to in order to be akumatized. Something doesn't sit right with me there."

"So do you think she's working with Hawk Moth on purpose?"

"That's hard to say, Marinette. What would she get out of working with Hawk Moth?"

"Well, she _hates_ Ladybug. Working with Hawk Moth would help bring about her downfall. That's a pretty strong motivation. I don't think she wants to see Hawk Moth succeed as much as she wants to see Ladybug lose. And if I'm right, she'll do _anything_ to hurt or destroy Ladybug."

"You need to be careful, then. If she's that focused on destroying Ladybug, then that makes her extra dangerous."

"One thing I don't understand, Tikki… she also dislikes me _as Marinette_. I don't think I've ever met someone who dislikes _both sides_ of me that much! I know I've upset a few people over the past few months, but they're willing to make up with me shortly after. Lila doesn't seem like that kind of person… and after the encounter with Kim yesterday, she's getting other people to act the same way! I'm going to have to be extra attentive to my friends from now on in order to make sure that nobody else falls under her spell. Thanks for listening, Tikki. I feel better."

Tikki turned over and closed her eyes. "You're welcome, Marinette. Sweet dreams!"

"You too, Tikki." Marinette closed her eyes and soon fell asleep, blond hair and green eyes filling her dreams like always.

* * *

Marinette had arrived early to school, but that was only because Alya had swung by the bakery early in the morning to pick her up. She didn't expect the day to be any better than yesterday, but thankfully Adrien seemed to be less skittish this morning. School started about as well as could be expected, given how the students were focused on their group presentations. Since it accounted for so much of their grade, Ms. Bustier let them work on the projects with minimal direction all morning.

 _I'm going to use this time to see what's up with Adrien. To heck with the project - my friend needs somebody, and I'm going to be the best friend I'm capable of being!_ "Hey Adrien," Marinette whispered, "did you get that thing you had to do yesterday taken care of?"

Adrien looked up from his textbook. "Hmm? Oh… yeah, I did, thanks. And thanks for covering for me. That was really terrible of me to just take off like that and leave you to work on the project alone. I owe you one, Marinette."

 _Well… he's talking to me, at least. Maybe Lila hasn't gotten to him at all!_ Marinette released a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Is there anything you need to… talk about? Need a friendly ear? I've got two of them, you know." She tapped her earlobes and smiled what she hoped was a winning smile at him.

"Oh! Haha… yes, you do. And thanks for the offer. There's some… stuff going on right now that I can't tell anybody just yet, but when I do talk to someone, you'll be the first person I go to." _More than you realize._ "Will that work?"

Marinette's heart skipped a beat. _He'll talk to ME first? Wow… I know EXACTLY what I'm writing in my diary tonight!_ "Yes, of course! And thanks. I'm just glad to see that you're in better shape than yesterday. Because you looked terrible. I mean! You look gorgeous! You're gorgeous. Wait! Um… I mean… you were having a rough day?" _And I know exactly what I'm NOT writing in my diary… too many pages of 'fell apart in front of Adrien' already. Ughhh…_

Adrien looked fondly at the dark-haired girl. "Thanks, Marinette. I appreciate it." He smiled and returned to his textbook.

The rest of the morning passed quickly, with project work going largely uninterrupted except for a wad of paper from Alya's direction hitting Marinette in the shoulder. Marinette glared at her friend, picked up the paper and smoothed it out. On it was printed _YOU GO GIRL!_

Marinette chuckled. _This day isn't going so bad after all._

* * *

When the lunch bell rang, Alya invited Juleka, Marinette, and Adrien over to the local café for lunch. Just then, Lila appeared behind Adrien and said, "Hey girls! Sorry, Adrien can't make it today. He's been working with me and my private tutor on some stuff, and we have some special work to do over lunch. Let's go, sidekick!" Lila skipped down to the door and paused, looking over her shoulder expectantly.

"Bummer," Juleka said. "I'll come, Alya."

"Wait, Adrien, you've been tutoring Lila for the past couple of days? And we're just hearing about that now?" Alya interrogated. "I've gotta get the scoop from my boy, he must really be holding back!"

Adrien stared at the floor. "Something like that. Her tutor's actually been working with me a bit, too. Sorry… looks like I have to go." He picked up his bag and headed out the door, with Lila following. She turned to Marinette and shot her a wink before disappearing.

"Girl…" Alya started, but Marinette cut her off.

 _Sidekick?_ "Sorry, Alya… I can't make it either. See you after lunch, maybe. I'm going to go take a nap… or a long walk… or go swimming… or just scream into my pillow for a bit." She gathered her things and took off running down the hall.

* * *

Nathalie was waiting in the foyer when Lila and Adrien arrived. "Come with me, children, you are expected." She turned on her heel and marched off to Gabriel Agreste's office. One by one, they traveled down the secret elevator to the cavernous room.

When they arrived, they noticed a purple butterfly flying out the window. Hawk Moth turned to them and smiled. "Excellent, children, I see you got my message. I have something very special for all of us today. Lila, you are going to stay here in case I need you. Adrien, you are going to get a chance to demonstrate your new skills in public. Please transform."

Adrien bristled, but said nothing.

"You will attempt to get Ladybug's Miraculous today, Adrien."

"And what if I don't?"

Hawk Moth drew his weapon from the sheath of his cane slightly, making sure Adrien saw it. Adrien swallowed.

"The akuma should be reaching our victim right about now. Adrien, you will wait ten minutes before departing for the battle. Ladybug should be weakened enough for you to be able to take her Miraculous from her."

"I think you underestimate Ladybug, Hawk Moth. She's fought akumas for much longer than ten minutes and barely broken a sweat!"

"You forget yourself again, Adrien. Your precious former partner has never fought an akuma quite like this before, and never fought alone. By the time you arrive late on the scene, she should be easy pickings. Now, Adrien, you can either transform now and take her Miraculous, or the akuma will destroy her. Your choice." An energy signature illuminated over his face, indicating that the akuma had indeed found its mark.

 _I doubt that the akuma would destroy her, but I don't want her to get hurt. If we are doing this, then I should be there to protect her, like always._ "Claws out," Adrien whispered. A flash of green light later, and Cat Noir watched Lila stand there with a watch in her hand and a smirk on her face.

"Don't worry about _me_ , Adrien. I won't cheat. After ten minutes, you'll be able to see Ladybug and keep her from getting hurt too badly. Oh, whoops - I haven't started the timer yet! Now, where's that button…?"

Ten minutes passed with Cat Noir wondering if he could, after all this was done, throw Lila into a very deep hole.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ladybug had her hands full. _Twice my size, as fast as me, and fists that hit like anvils. Most akumas have an end goal other than "beat up Ladybug", but this one only has eyes for me!_

 _It's hard enough fighting this akuma without having to look over my shoulder every ten seconds to see if Cat Noir is coming. I hope nothing's happened to him! He was pretty upset the last time I saw him. I don't even know if he got my message to contact me. It's times like this that I wish we knew each other out of the suit. I don't know if he has anyone to talk to, and he certainly doesn't have anyone who knows what it's like to live a double life like we do._

She dodged another blow. _Oof! Hawk Moth must be in a really bad mood - this one's nasty. I hope I can hang in there long enough to get that butterfly out of there._

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the akuma bellowed. "I will take your Miraculous after I've squashed you, little bug! Or, spare yourself, and give me your earrings now!"

"You're barking up the wrong tree, akuma!" Ladybug called out. She dared glance at the akuma from her hiding place and saw a familiar figure in a black suit crouched on a lamp post behind the akuma. _There he is! I'll let him keep the element of surprise. Let's see if I can back that akuma up to Cat Noir so he can hop on and take him for a ride._

Just then, a heavy blow landed directly to her right, shattering the chimney she was hiding behind! She jumped out of the way and landed on a lamp post opposite Cat Noir. _Looks like he already has Cataclysm activated… he's not messing around!_

The akuma sprung at her. Ladybug noticed a shape in black also falling towards her. Her eyes widened. _Cat Noir must have misjudged his leap. He's not going to hit the akuma… he's going to hit ME!_ She bounced out of the way a split-second before Cat Noir collided with the lamp post, disintegrating it! The akuma flew past where the lamp post was and landed on the street. Both the akuma and Cat Noir stood in the street, looking up at Ladybug.

From her perch high on some scaffolding, she heard Cat Noir yell "Cataclysm!" _What is he doing? That's got to be a bluff for the akuma. But why isn't he attacking the akuma? He must be waiting for me. Let me get my lucky charm and… AAAAGH!_ Ladybug was unable to complete the summoning for her Lucky Charm, as the scaffolding had collapsed out from under her! As she fell some sixty feet to the ground, she saw Cat Noir with his arm extended, a pile of dust — the remnants of a Cataclysm, she recognized — nearby. _What the heck is going ON? He didn't have time to recharge! How did he DO that?_ Her thoughts were interrupted as she landed with a sharp thud on the remains of the scaffolding. Fortunately for her, the akuma was trapped underneath the fallen beams and bars, and she was able to reach in and snag the akumatized object before the akuma came to his senses. Breaking the object, she snagged the fleeing butterfly with her yo-yo and purified it before it could multiply and do more damage.

Still laying on the rubble, she reached out to Cat Noir. "Pound it…" she groaned.

Cat Noir whispered, "Cataclysm."

She turned her head to Cat Noir. "Yes, Kitty, I saw… you used Cataclysm to break the scaffolding. That worked great, but warn me next time, OK?"

Shaking, Cat Noir repeated, "Cataclysm."

 _Oh. He's not telling me that's what he did… he's trying to summon it again. What on earth is happening here?_ "Kitty?" she tried.

"CATACLYSM!" he roared, tears starting to spill from his eyes. Black bubbles flickered in his right hand, then faded away.

Ladybug's eyes widened behind the mask. _Oh… oh no. He's trying to use it again? But I'm OK, I'm not trapped, unless… he's trying to use it ON ME?!_ Not liking the conclusion she was coming to, she jumped up and swung away as fast and as far as she could on her yo-yo, leaving Cat Noir a crumpled, crying mess on the sidewalk.

Once she was a safe distance away, she summoned her Lucky Charm. _Still gotta clean up after that battle,_ she grimaced _._ A red-and-black spotted candle fell into her hands. _That makes sense - I need to go talk to him anyway._ "Miraculous LADYBUG!" she called, throwing the candle in the air, causing a swarm of magical ladybugs to flow through the streets of Paris, setting everything right again.

Everything, that is, except the heart of a distraught blond teenager, kneeling next to newly-restored scaffolding. _Failed,_ Cat Noir thought. _I failed Father, I failed Master Fu, I failed Plagg, I failed Ladybug… this did not go well at all. What's worse is, I think Ladybug realized that the last Cataclysm wasn't going to be as helpful to her as the others. I hope Father doesn't notice that I used Cataclysm to save Ladybug and trap the akuma the first two times._

 _Why didn't it come the last time? Was my heart not in it? Was Plagg refusing to acknowledge my summons? He's magically bound to obey me… maybe I just wasn't doing it right. I don't know! I don't KNOW! Well, my timer isn't counting down right now, at least… I've got somewhere I need to be, and then someone I need to visit afterwards._ He stared at his hand, at the not-quite-as-bright green paw print blazing from the black ring.

He clicked open his baton and checked the communicator app. The message from Ladybug played: _"Kitty? It's Ladybug. Let me know when you can meet me so we can talk. I'm worried about you."_

Cat Noir sighed. _Sorry, My Lady. I can't. I wish I could, but I can't._

He thumbed the "Delete" button on the communicator and closed his baton. Standing up, he began the journey home.

* * *

Ladybug yo-yo'ed as far as she could manage before her transformation dropped, making it about five blocks from the Guardian's apartment. Emerging from an alley, Marinette walked quickly to the building that was becoming so familiar to her.

"Tikki, I'm so worried!" she said loud enough so that only her kwami could hear. "Something's going on with Cat Noir! He was late - which he _never_ is. Then he didn't say anything during the battle. Not to me, not to the akuma… nothing at all! And what was up with the two Cataclysms? Did I miss something? Did the akuma destroy the first lamp post, and then Cat Noir destroyed the scaffolding? And, _why was he trying to summon Cataclysm again?_ That makes _no sense_ , Tikki! I wasn't hurt, I wasn't trapped, and the akuma had been defeated at that point! What was he trying to do? I mean, I know he's a show-off, but I definitely don't think that meets the criteria of showing off."

Marinette arrived at the apartment building, climbed the stairs, and gasped. "Tikki! You've got to see this!" She opened her purse to let the kwami out.

Tikki yelled and covered her face. "Marinette! The door's wide open, and everything's gone! What happened?"

Marinette could only shake her head as she walked through the deserted apartment. "Whoever was here, they left in a hurry. Come on, Tikki… it's probably not safe to be here. I don't want to be around in case bad news shows up."

* * *

Cat Noir entered the mansion via the secret entrance that led directly to Hawk Moth's lair. Hawk Moth and Lila were waiting for him.

"What happened, Adrien?" Hawk Moth spat at him. "You obviously couldn't get the job done, and that was one of the most powerful akumas I've ever made! If your heart is not in it, I will just take your Miraculous and be done with you!" Hawk Moth gestured to Adrien's hand with his cane. "I knew you couldn't use your power when it counted. Even though you're dressed like a superhero right now, you're defenseless against me. I bet even Lila could defeat you right now in hand-to-hand combat! Detransform, Adrien. This afternoon has been a waste."

"Father…" Cat Noir began.

"So, you have accepted the truth." Hawk Moth smirked.

"I've accepted that there is a man named Gabriel Agreste somewhere under that mask! That there was a man who had the heart of a good father somewhere underneath your cold exterior! Father… I want Mother back, too. You _know_ I do. But I will settle for just having a father who cares about me, who spends time with me, regardless of whether or not Mother is around!"

"YOU WILL SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECTION!" Hawk Moth shouted at him. "And you will give it to me in this, as you have given it to me in every other area of your life. The perfect face, the perfect body, the perfect _son!_ I have given you concessions to keep you able to deliver me perfection, but if you cannot deliver to me something that you are clearly capable of doing, then _what purpose do you serve?_ " The last words were delivered with a venom like Adrien had never heard before. "Get out. Rest. I'll speak with you in the morning. I believe you should be practicing the piano, unless you enjoy disappointing me without the mask on as well?"

Cat Noir seethed, but ultimately said nothing. He was able to sense through his bond with Plagg that staying transformed was starting to drain him. He left through the elevator to his father's office, went to his bedroom, detransformed, and collapsed on his bed. His kwami, as was his new habit over the past couple of days, floated over to his desk. Adrien fell into a fitful sleep and only moved when his phone vibrated.

* * *

The afternoon passed slowly for Marinette. Despite having a pile of homework and a sketchbook full of half-finished designs, she couldn't keep her mind off of what happened at school and at the akuma battle. _Adrien working with Lila? Since when does *he* need tutoring? And she called him her "sidekick"? What was that all about? He's been acting weird these past couple of days. He's normally not the most outgoing person, but these past few days he's been really lost inside himself, I think. I'm not sure what to make of it. And then Cat Noir… he's been *way* out of it. This afternoon was scary, in more ways than one. Taking on an akuma that hard-hitting by myself, and then Cat Noir that much off his game, took a lot out of me. If I could find Master Fu, I'd ask him about getting another full-time partner - Cat Noir could probably use the break if he's that stressed out… or worse._

 _Hmm.. sitting up here isn't helping me get my mind off of things. I wonder if Mom and Dad need help down in the bakery?_ She headed downstairs and volunteered to work the counter for a bit. _This is exactly what I need. Smiling, being pleasant, helping people… just getting lost in the pleasure of work._ The bell to the front door dinged. Marinette saw an old man in a Hawaiian shirt come into the bakery. _Is that who I think it is?_ Her heart raced. He caught her eye and shook his head slightly. The old man paced around for a bit, checking out what was for sale. Finally, he got in line behind the other customers.

"I would like a _millefeuille_ , please," he asked when he reached the counter. "They look delicious."

"We sell the best pastries in the city! Here you go," Marinette said, boxing up the pastry and handing it to the man. "Would you like anything else?"

"Yes, actually. Do you have any small fruit tarts? My… turtle enjoys snacking on them." He grinned and winked at Marinette.

She smiled back. "One fruit tart, coming up. Here's your total," she indicated the amount on the cash register. When she came back from putting the tart in a box, the old man handed her a stack of bills. On the bottom of the bills was a small slip of paper that Marinette pocketed before handing the old man his change. "Thank you sir, come again!" she told him.

The old man nodded and left the bakery. Marinette worked for a bit longer, although it didn't have the same effect now that the note from Master Fu was burning a hole in her pocket. The last customer of the pre-dinner rush walked out the door, and Marinette waved to her parents before running up the stairs to her bedroom. Once she got there, she pulled out the note. It read:

 _Keep your friends close. There is great danger._

 _Come to the masquerade early tomorrow morning. rue Poirot._

 _Destroy this after reading it._

Marinette read the note three times, then swallowed hard. "Tikki… what do you think this means?" She took out a lighter and burned the note, following it with some incense to cover the smell.

"I don't know, Marinette. It's been a long time since a Guardian has had to go into hiding. And with Master Fu being the last of the Order of the Guardians, if anything happens to him, the secrets of the Miraculous could be lost forever!"

"What do you think he means by 'masquerade'?... Oh! It must mean to come as Ladybug, not as Marinette. Early tomorrow morning… guess I'm not going to make it to school on time! Oh shoot! I completely missed afternoon classes!" Marinette slapped her forehead and dragged her hand down her face. "Adrien's going to kill me for being a bad partner! I hope he took notes."

"The note _does_ say to keep your friends close, Marinette. Why don't you text him and see if you can make it up to him?"

"Tikki, are you kidding? I can't just text him out of the blue like that!"

"Sure you can! Just ask him for today's notes, and see what happens! He'd probably appreciate you looking out for him, too."

"You know what… you're right! I've kissed the boy, for heaven's sake! Sending a text message should _not_ just send me to pieces like this!" Marinette chewed her bottom lip. "Plus, it's a lot easier than talking to him in person." She pulled out her phone.

 **[Marinette] Hey, Adrien. Sorry I missed class this afternoon. How are you holding up?**

She hit _SEND_ and waited. With a squeal, she watched the bubble "typing" notification come up.

 **[Adrien] Marinette! It's OK. My father called me away for something, so I missed class too. Thanks for checking in on me.**

"See?" said Tikki. "I told you he'd appreciate it!" Marinette swatted at the kwami, sending her floating away in a fit of giggles.

* * *

In his room, Adrien lay on his bed. _That girl is too good to me. I'm not sure I deserve it._ _I still can't tell her what's going on with me, but… maybe Cat Noir has enough of his reputation left to pay her another visit._ His phone buzzed.

 **[Marinette] Of course! That's what friends do. I've still got two ears if you want to use them. I'm free all night.**

Adrien smiled.

 **[Adrien] I've got some family stuff I need to do tonight, but I appreciate the offer. I'll definitely be in touch, though. See you tomorrow at school, and thanks again.**

 **[Marinette] :)**

"Ughhh… Father told me to rest tonight and conserve our energy, but we're going to go out tonight. I'll probably get locked in my room for the next five years for this if he finds out, but right now I'll take that chance." Adrien set his phone on the piano and started his playlist of pieces he should be practicing. He then walked over to his desk and gently picked up Plagg, who flinched at the touch. "Let's go see a friend, Plagg. Claws out!"

Cat Noir vaulted out the window and onto the nearest rooftop, and from there toward the rooftop of his friend. _I hope I still qualify as one._

* * *

Marinette was sitting on her chaise lounge working on a sketch when a quiet _thump_ from above broke her concentration. _Huh… that sounded like it came from my balcony. Maybe the wind blew the lounge chair over… again._ She stood up, stretched, and was halfway up the ladder to her bed when she heard a knocking from her skylight. Taking a deep breath, she paused briefly to cue up the Emergency Services number on her phone before continuing. She squinted at the skylight to see a pair of bright green eyes blinking back at her. Her phone fell from her hand as she raced up to the hatch and pushed it open.

"Cat Noir? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi, Marinette. I was in the neighborhood and saw that your light was on. It's been a while since we talked, and I wanted to see how you were doing?" He forced what he hoped was a normal-looking smile on his face.

 _OK, Ladybug's worried about him… and a little terrified, too. But Marinette shouldn't be. Maybe I can play it straight long enough to find out what's really been bothering him these past few days._ "Oh, you know, the usual," she joked, climbing through the hatch onto the balcony. "I haven't been trapped in a giant vine prison, held hostage by a nightmare, or turned into a kissing zombie recently, so… all good here!" She laughed. "How about you? I saw you've had a couple of battles these past few days. Looks like you've been busy!"

He sighed. "That's one way to put it. How long do you have?" He chuckled bitterly.

"Cat Noir, we are _friends_. We always will be, no matter what happens. I've always got time for my friends."

 _Be careful what you wish for_ , Cat Noir thought. "There are… things… going on in my personal life and my professional life. I know I can't tell you too much without telling you exactly who I am, but I'll do my best." He sat down next to her chair and motioned for her to sit. "Let's just say… someone found a way to peek over the wall I keep between my personal and professional life."

Marinette gasped. _Someone found out who he is? Oh, that's bad. That's very, very bad._ "Go on," she prompted. "Is it someone you can trust?"

"Here's the thing. I can count the number of people I'm close to in my personal life on one hand and have fingers left over. In my professional life, that number's a lot smaller, sadly. Occupational hazard, you know. I only need one finger for that." To illustrate, he raised one finger, then slowly pointed it at Marinette.

Marinette's eyes widened. _Ladybug's not on that list? Well, that makes sense… we keep our distance, necessarily. But I didn't realize he didn't consider us close, given all we've been through together. I should try to fix that… assuming he won't try to Cataclysm me on sight the next time we meet up._

"I would not include this person - people, actually - on either of those lists. But, here we are. This person has something to offer me that nobody else can, and it's something I really want, but in order to do that, I have to give up a part of myself. Ohh… I'm all mixed up."

"So… this person who knows you… like _know_ knows you… is the only person who can give you this thing?"

"That's right," Cat Noir confirmed.

"And the price for this thing sounds pretty steep. Steep enough that you're questioning whether or not you should pay it."

"Yes," Cat Noir whispered.

"The part of yourself that you have to give up… is it being Cat Noir?"

"Well… no and yes. In fact, I have to actually _be_ Cat Noir for part of it. I just can't be the Cat Noir that everybody knows. Don't worry, I'm not evil or going to the dark side or anything like that… but I have a feeling Cat Noir, Superhero of Paris isn't going to be around much longer." His eyes started watering. "And you know what? Part of me is OK with that, because if I pay this price… if I get this wish… then I won't need to be Cat Noir anymore. There won't need to be _any_ superheroes." He sniffed and looked at the ground.

Marinette reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. _Wow… no wonder he's been a wreck. I don't know much about his life outside of being a superhero, but I know he loves being Cat Noir. Oh… you know what, I can relate to this. Just have to figure out how to phrase it…_ "Remember Style Queen, when Chloé's mom got akumatized?"

"Yeah, mostly. I was out of commission, but Ladybug brought me up to speed." _I was actually a glitter statue but there's no way on Earth I can tell her that._

"Did you know that right after that, Chloé's mom offered me a job as a designer in New York City?"

 _Yes, I was standing right next to you, as a matter of fact._ "No! Wow! So… obviously you didn't take it. Why not?"

"Let me tell you something… it was a hard decision for me to make. I even had my parents offering to move with me and open a bakery in New York! Being a fashion designer is my lifelong dream! And to be mentored by one of the most famous designers in the world, Audrey Bourgeois? There are a lot of people who would have thrown themselves at that opportunity without a second thought. I had a lot of support, even from the boy I… uh…" She trailed off. "ANYWAY, there was stuff I felt like I needed to do here, and stuff here that I wasn't willing to give up. So I think I know a bit about what you're going through." She sat down on the ground next to Cat Noir and put her arm around him. "Do you want to tell me more?"

"Marinette, I… I'm so glad you're my friend. I wish I could, just for one night, set aside the mask and just spill everything. I don't want to put you in any more danger, though. If Haw… _he_ finds out I'm here, he could come after you to make me help him."

"Wait, Cat Noir - are you saying that the person who could give you this… thing, this wish… he's _forcing_ you to help him?"

"I wouldn't say he's forcing me as much as he's made a _very_ convincing argument that I should be helping him. It's more of a sense of duty on my part than it is my being forced. But, I don't want him to have any more leverage over me than he already does. Does that make sense?"

"Would you be helping him if he didn't have this wish to offer you?"

"Oh, heck no! In fact, I've been actively hindering him."

"Personally or… professionally?"

"I… can't answer that. Marinette… how do I do this? I feel like I'm being pulled in two!" He dropped his head and leaned into Marinette slightly, who pulled him in closer.

"Cat Noir… I know you're one of the bravest, strongest people I know. So that must mean that there's a part of Cat Noir in whoever is behind the mask. Someone… much wiser than me told me once that no matter which face I choose to show the world, I'm still the same person inside. That's the same for you. You're Cat Noir, with or without the mask. And that means that you're a good person, no matter which direction you feel you're being pulled in. You'll make the right decision and things will work out if you stay true to who you are."

Cat Noir sighed. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Marinette… I… I have to go. I don't know when I'll be able to see you again. But please know that talking to you tonight was the best decision I've made in days. I'm going to be in trouble for sneaking out; I can hear myself being yelled at already. Cat Noir doesn't get a lot of time for friends these days, but when I do get that friend time… can I come back?"

Marinette pulled him into a tight hug. "You can always come back, Cat Noir. And if you don't get a lot of professional time for your friends… you should make personal time for your friends. Even if you can't tell them everything either, it's not fair to have to go through life without support." She gave him a squeeze. "Good luck, _friend_. I hope to see you smiling soon."

With a nod and a salute, he pulled out his baton and leapt into the night.

* * *

Marinette dropped into her room and closed the hatch behind her. "Did you hear that?" she asked the kwami, who had floated down from near the ceiling.

"I got it all, Marinette. Did you want to talk about it?"

"I'm… going to sleep on it. That's a lot to process. I think I've got a lot of clues as to what is going on, but we need to see Master Fu in -" she looked at the clock on her phone "- a couple of hours, so I'm going to get to sleep while I still can. We'll both talk to Master Fu about this in the morning." She set the alarm on her phone and climbed into bed without changing her clothes, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Next time:

* "I know who Hawk Moth is"

* "Ready to make mischief?"

* A talk with Tikki* ...and so much more! Don't miss it!


	4. Appetite for Destruction

Marinette's alarm went off at 4:30 AM. _Not the earliest I've ever gotten up, but I'd much rather be sleeping some more._ She shook Tikki awake and got her a cookie while she changed her clothes and got ready for the day. Once that was done, Marinette quietly called for Ladybug and sprung out of her hatch, headed for the address she had memorized.

* * *

The building that housed Master Fu's new hideout was nondescript and ramshackle. Ladybug cautiously entered and mounted the stairs to the second floor. Proceeding to the apartment number that was indicated on the note, she knocked quietly.

Master Fu opened the door a crack and peeked out. "It is good to see you, Ladybug. Please, come in quickly." He shut the door, unlocked the chain locks, and then opened it all the way to allow entry. Once Ladybug was inside, he shut the door and locked it. "Come, sit down." He motioned to a chair, and sat down in a chair next to it.

Ladybug sat down and looked around. There were a few boxes stacked in the corner, a familiar credenza with a record player on it, and not much else. "Master, what happened? Why are you in hiding?"

"We are in grave danger, Ladybug. I received a visit from someone yesterday that caused me great concern. To be honest… I haven't felt like this since the Temple of the Guardians was destroyed. The Miraculous are at risk. We must be very careful."

"Who visited you, Master? What did they say that has you so worried?"

"Ladybug, what I am about to tell you is of the utmost importance, but it cannot be discussed freely. Guard it as you would your closest secrets."

"What we talk about stays in these four walls, Master."

"Good. Ladybug, your partner visited me yesterday, in his civilian identity. He is troubled. _Deeply_ troubled. He gave no specifics, but he is questioning his capacity as a superhero. I sensed that he is being tempted to fight against you… against all of the Miraculous holders."

"This explains a bit, Master… you see, my partner came to visit me yesterday, in _my_ civilian identity. He had been acting different during battles, and I took the opportunity to see if I could get to the bottom of what's been on his mind. He didn't tell me directly, but I think someone knows who he is on both sides of the mask. And that someone is using him to get something, probably my Miraculous."

"Did he say why they were trying to do that?"

"Not directly… but it had to do with something that Cat Noir really wanted. He called it a _wish_. And he said after he got that wish, he wouldn't need to be Cat Noir anymore. Does anything like that ring a bell?"

"Ladybug… do you remember when the robot was akumatized?"

"Robustus? Yeah, I remember that."

"And afterwards we talked about what happens when you combine the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous. Do you remember that?"

"OH! Yes, I do. The person who combines both of those will be able to alter reality… or, as you put it, make a wish. That must be what Cat Noir was talking about!"

"Let me ask you something, Ladybug. Do you think that Cat Noir knows that there must be balance in that wish?"

"I… don't know, Master. That is a good question. I know him well enough that if he knew that there was balance, he would probably not make the wish."

"I agree with you. He is a good person, and very selfless. He is everything a hero needs to be."

"Then who would be able to tempt him like this?"

"I have my suspicions, but am not one hundred percent certain yet. Tell me, you said he was acting different during battles. How so? You have fought two akuma in the past two days, is that correct?"

"That's correct, Master. The first akuma called himself Writer's Block and encased people in bubbles of silence. Cat Noir dodged out of the way of an attack, but a civilian who was behind him got hit. I think he took that hard. Then, something happened where I was trapped in one of those bubbles with the Lucky Charm outside of it, and Cat Noir went directly after the akuma with Cataclysm. He didn't use it, though… it looked like Hawk Moth spoke directly to Cat Noir through the akuma. The akuma de-transformed on its own, and after I captured the butterfly and restored things to how they were, Cat Noir wouldn't talk to me. He said something that told me he was feeling completely overwhelmed, but before I could talk to him, I had to leave because my transformation was expiring. I left him a message, but he never returned it.

"Then yesterday, he was late to the battle. Like, _really_ late. And this akuma was _rough!_ I wasn't sure how I was going to beat him, and then all of a sudden, Cat Noir showed up, Cataclysm at the ready. He leaped at the akuma, but he misjudged it and almost got me instead! Then, he immediately called for another Cataclysm and knocked some scaffolding onto the akuma. I was able to free the butterfly and purify it, but then afterwards, Cat Noir wouldn't talk to me. He kept trying to summon Cataclysm over and over again… _and I think he was trying to get me with it._

"Master… *how* can Cat Noir do Cataclysm over and over again, without recharging? I didn't even hear a countdown after the second one… and he kept trying and trying for another but it wasn't happening. What's going on?"

Master Fu sat there and thought for a few minutes. "Ladybug… I think you have given me enough information to determine a number of things. I must caution you, though. We are entering very dangerous territory here. I am going to start by reminding you that your role as a superhero is defense. You must stand and protect the city of Paris at all times, no matter the situation. And with that reminder, I am going to tell you what I have figured out.

"One. It is very likely that the person who Cat Noir now serves is Hawk Moth."

Ladybug gasped.

"Hawk Moth is most likely using fear to control your partner. Fear is a powerful emotion and can make people do things they normally wouldn't. Cat Noir is still your partner, but I imagine that Hawk Moth is dangling something that is making Cat Noir question that partnership. Cat Noir could only have learned how to do multiple Cataclysms from Hawk Moth.

"Two. I now know with certainty who Hawk Moth is. Now, before you ask, I cannot reveal that information to you."

"But… but... "

"I _will not_ reveal that. When we first started, I thought knowing Hawk Moth's true identity would only be to our advantage. However, given the circumstances, it will only be a liability. We must - _you_ must - remain focused on the objective: save Paris and protect the Miraculous. Knowing who Hawk Moth is will help you do neither. This is a time to wait for the water to boil. You will know when to put the noodles in.

"Three. Hawk Moth would not attempt to bring Cat Noir to his side unless he was very certain he would win. That means that in addition to Cat Noir, he probably has some very powerful tricks up his sleeve. He is becoming more dangerous than ever before. I repeat: _do not seek Hawk Moth out. Do not try to determine Cat Noir's identity. Doing so will only lead you to your doom and the destruction of the Miraculous._ Am I clear, Ladybug?"

Ladybug frowned, "But, Master…"

" _Am I clear, Ladybug?_ "

"Yes, Master."

"Good. You will need to get a new partner now that Cat Noir has become… unreliable. Choose someone you trust. Your team is going to grow slowly, but you will need to learn to work together quickly. I believe that Hawk Moth is approaching his endgame, and you will have to be ready for that."

"Will you be training me like Hawk Moth has been training Cat Noir?"

Master Fu hummed. "The relationship between a kwami and the person wearing the Miraculous is a delicate one. While it's true that you can remain transformed after using your special power, and even use your special power more than once, that can severely damage the relationship with your kwami. You have a very close relationship with Tikki. Would you abuse her the way that Hawk Moth abuses his kwami, or that Cat Noir appears to be abusing his?"

Ladybug shuddered.

"You have all the training you need to defeat Hawk Moth at this point. The parts of you that make you an exceptional Ladybug come without the training. You are very resourceful. You are able to see your way out of situations that would cause despair in others. You and your kwami are more attuned to each other than has ever been seen since the creation of the Miraculous. You are one of a kind, Marinette. If you doubt your ability now, just know that when the time comes, you will be able to defeat Hawk Moth and restore the Miraculous to their rightful purpose."

Fu stood up and walked over to the Miracle Box. He held it in front of Ladybug and opened it. "Choose quickly and carefully, Ladybug. Give it to its intended recipient immediately. If you, or the recipient is compromised, contact me at once."

"When I give the Miraculous to the person I chose… can I give them the information you gave me?"

"I trust you to use your judgment, Ladybug. Remember, the more people know a secret, the greater the likelihood of it being exposed. And this particular secret is very dangerous."

Ladybug considered the Miraculous and chose one, putting it in a small runed box that Master Fu had available. Fu returned the Miracle Box to its hiding place. "Farewell, Ladybug… for now." He smiled and handed her a small flip phone. "Use this to contact me. It is untraceable. Do not use this phone for any other purpose. Do not use the number programmed into this phone on your personal phone. Good luck."

"You too, Master." Ladybug left the apartment, went out the building, and swung away as the sun came up over Paris.

* * *

Cat Noir lay in his bed, tossing and turning. The words of Hawk Moth rang through his ears. _"What purpose do you serve?"_ _"_ _I'll take your Miraculous by force."_ His failure earlier that day, and his disobedience that night tasted bitter on his tongue. He was weak. His kwami was weak.

Cat Noir rolled over onto his back, trying to get comfortable. He opened his eyes and saw Hawk Moth standing over him, weapon drawn! Despite his efforts to get away, Cat Noir could only clumsily scramble backwards on his bed. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Hawk Moth leaned over, grabbed his right arm, and sneered. "This is what happens to failures, Adrien," he seethed. Before Cat Noir could react, Hawk Moth brought down his sword and sliced Cat Noir's hand off neatly at the wrist! Hawk Moth picked up the severed hand, removed the ring, and continued, "Now I truly have no need for you. Don't worry, Adrien, after I've made _my_ wish, maybe _you_ can wish for your hand back… if I let you." Hawk Moth turned abruptly and marched out the door.

* * *

Adrien screamed.

He sat up in his bed, clutching his right forearm with his left hand, and then for variety, he screamed some more.

He scooted to the edge of his bed, got his foot caught in his bedsheets, and fell onto the floor, landing with a _thud_.

Plagg looked over from Adrien's desk, but said nothing.

Adrien stared at his right arm, dumbfounded. His hand was still attached, and his ring was still on his finger. _I haven't had a nightmare like that in… forever, I think. Wow._ He stood up, then walked over to his bathroom to splash some cold water on his face to try to slow his racing heart down. _Hmm.. 5:30… sun should be up soon._

 _I'm glad I made it out to talk to Marinette last night. Even though I couldn't tell her everything that was going on, it was nice to talk to someone who isn't going to judge me. "You're a good person, no matter which direction you feel you're being pulled in." I'm glad someone thinks of me as a good person. Plagg hates me, Father thinks I'm worthless, Lila treats me like dirt, and to be honest, sometimes I don't feel that good about myself, either. Who knows what Ladybug thinks about me right now. I'm just trying to do the best I can with what I've been given, here. And this opportunity to have a whole family again? I've dreamed of this longer than I'd care to admit._

 _If Father would have asked, back in the beginning when we first got our Miraculous, then I'm not sure what I would have said. But, seeing how he has changed over the months and years has convinced me that bringing Mother back is the only way I can get my Father back. Everything I've ever done in my life, I've done it for him. I know that deep down, he loves me, in his own way._

 _And speaking of people who love me… I wish that Ladybug loved me as much as I love her. It's true that giving up being Cat Noir in order to get Mother back means that I'm also giving up Ladybug, but to be fair, did I ever really have her? I don't ever think I'll get my hopes up for her again. Not after how she rejected me after we rescued that guy on the hang glider. Maybe it's time I opened my eyes to other possibilities._

 _Marinette is really sweet, and she does everything she can to help other people. She reminds me a lot of Ladybug. I even told her as much on Heroes Day. She took time out of her busy night with no notice to listen to me ramble on. She is such a caring person, regardless of whether I'm wearing my ears or not. I've been a lousy partner to Ladybug recently, but maybe I'll have the change to make it up by being a great partner to Marinette at school. I should start getting ready._

* * *

The bell was ringing as Marinette ran into the classroom. There was no project work that day, so Marinette took her seat next to Alya and started unpacking her bag. _I have to figure out how to get the Miraculous to its holder… but first, I should probably focus on whatever subject we're learning right now. Literature. Great._

Ms. Bustier said, "Turn to page 227 in your literature books, class. We'll pick up reading Shakespeare's _Julius Caesar_ where we left off. Nathaniel, will you begin, please?"

"I could be as well moved, if…" Nathaniel read.

Marinette zoned out. _I need time to figure out what's going on here. And to get the Miraculous delivered. Maybe right before lunch break I'll jump into the storage closet, transform, and then pass a note as everyone is coming out of class. Ughhh - I wish this didn't have to be so difficult!_ She looked at her friends' bags. _Maybe I'll just slip a note in there from Ladybug to meet at a certain time during lunch._

"Et, tu, Brute!" came Chloe's voice from Marinette's right.

"Et tu, Kitty?" mumbled Marinette. Alya, Nino, and Adrien spun around to look at her. "Huh? Oh, sorry… umm… my grandma has a cat named Brutus, I just thought it was funny." _Good one, dorkasaurus._ Her friends shook their heads and went back to following along with the play.

* * *

 _I really have to stop falling asleep in class,_ thought Adrien. _ESPECIALLY if I'm going to dream about Ladybug like that. I could have sworn she was right behind me there for a second._

* * *

Marinette pulled out a small sheet of paper and a pencil and hastily drew something, then folded the paper and put it in her blazer pocket. As the class moved to Ms. Mendeliev's room for science, Marinette placed the folded piece of paper in someone's bag. _I hope this works._

She watched her target pull the school-issued tablet out of the bag and drop the piece of paper. They picked it up, unfolded it, read it, glanced around, and then folded it back up and stuffed it in their mouth.

Marinette suppressed a chuckle. _This is going to be fun! As much fun as a situation like this can be, I guess._

* * *

Lunch break came. Marinette gathered her things, ran home, climbed up to her bedroom, and transformed. Ladybug grabbed the runed Miraculous box and swung toward the park across the street from the school. A figure stood there, waiting.

"Ladybug! How on earth did you get that note into my bag? I'm so honored that you would do this! What's up?"

"Not here… let's grab a place somewhere private. Hang on tight!" Ladybug grabbed her friend and her yo-yo, then swung to a nearby rooftop. "This is as secluded a place as any. I need to talk to you."

Her friend let go once they landed. "Sure! I'm all ears. I don't think this is an exclusive scoop for the Ladyblog, though, huh?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No, Alya, unfortunately not. This is a bit more serious. You've helped me before on a few occasions. I need to know if you're willing to help me again."

"You mean as Rena Rouge? Of course! Is there an akuma? My followers usually text me," she frowned at her phone.

"No, there's no akuma now. But I need you to be on standby for when the next one shows up. And maybe the next few ones after that. Will you help?"

"Oh! Um… yes! One hundred times yes! Girl, I am so there for you and for Cat Noir."

Ladybug frowned. _How in-depth do I need to go here? Good relationships are based on trust, and I need to make sure I don't break that. Plus, she's getting herself into more danger than ever before. She needs to have the full picture._ "Alya, I need to be honest with you. This is going to be difficult. More difficult than you can imagine. I need people I can trust to be on my side. Hawk Moth is planning something big. I don't know what that is, or when it's coming. But we need to be ready. He's building a team."

"Like during Heroes Day? A bunch of akumatized baddies? We _won_ , though… barely. Has he smartened up, somehow?"

"Something like that. He's going after Miraculous wearers directly, this time."

"He did that last time, though, with Queen Wasp, Shellshock… and Rena Rage. Cool name, but I am super-embarrassed about that."

"That's not what I mean. He's not akumatizing them; he's recruiting them. Like Cat Noir."

Alya flinched. "Yeah, but Cat Noir would never fall for something like that, right?" She waited for a response. "Ohh… no, wait, _what?_ You mean to say that _Cat Noir is helping Hawk Moth on purpose?_ When I see him, I'm going to kick his butt so hard…!"

"I don't think it's like that, Alya. Hawk Moth has apparently manipulated Cat Noir to where he feels that he has no choice _but_ to assist him. We don't know who else he has gotten, but if he's managed to lure Cat Noir, then I don't think anyone's off the table."

"Got it. I'll be careful."

Ladybug nodded and handed the runed box to Alya. Alya opened it, and Trixx, the fox kwami, appeared in front of her. "Hello again! Ready to make some mischief?" Trixx asked.

"Not yet, Trixx. Ladybug will tell us when it's time. In the meantime," Alya put the necklace on and tucked it into her shirt, "stay close to me."

"You got it, Alya!" Trixx flew into Alya's shirt to hide.

"Is that it, Ladybug?"

"Now that you mention it, Alya… there's one more thing. I don't know how to say this, but… there's been an interesting pattern with Hawk Moth recently. He managed to akumatize one person three times in a row, and once additionally before that. You know her as Volpina."

"Fake Rena Rouge? She's in my class!"

"That's right; Lila Rossi. The last time Hawk Moth got a plan together, Volpina was the catalyst behind it. I don't know if she'll be involved the next time around, but use your journalist instincts and keep an eye on her. I believe she is much more dangerous than she lets on."

"You got it, Ladybug. I'll keep an eye out." She paused, then continued, hesitantly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Alya. You've earned it."

"Why didn't you ask Carapace too?"

 _Because he's been acting cold to me in class over the past few days. Because I don't know where his loyalties lie, but I can't say that. Or maybe I can say that. But not without giving up my secret identity. Hmm… better tread lightly._ "Right now we are keeping the number of heroes in play at a minimum, since we have no idea who Hawk Moth is recruiting, and we don't want to give him any more targets. I trust you, Alya. You have been one person I can count on again and again, and you are always there when I need you." _With or without my spots._ "I need someone in whom I have absolute trust."

Alya blinked. "Wow, Ladybug. That's… really touching. Thank you for trusting me. I promise I won't let you down. And speaking of letting people down… can you get me off of this roof, please? School is about to start back up."

The girls shared a laugh and swung away together on Ladybug's yo-yo.

* * *

Adrien's lunch didn't go as well as Alya's did.

He sat at the dining room table, a plate of bland food in front of him. _Eating alone again. At least some things never change despite what I do._ Right before he had to leave to return to school, Nathalie appeared in the doorway.

"Your father wishes to tell you that you are to stay in the house tonight with him, in the atrium. There will be no need for Cat Noir, regardless of what happens."

 _Great. This means that there definitely will be an akuma attack tonight, and I have no way of warning Ladybug that she'll be flying solo._ Adrien sighed. _Maybe I'll be able to sneak off between classes and leave her a message on her communicator._

As if reading his mind, Nathalie added, "Your bodyguard will be accompanying you to the door of the school, where Miss Rossi will be meeting you. She is to report back on all your behavior, so if you try to sneak off and disappear, even for a moment, she will inform me, and you will lose much more than your privileges. Is that understood, Adrien?"

"Yes, Nathalie," he whispered.

* * *

Marinette was shocked to see Adrien and Lila walk into the classroom together. Lila whispered something to Adrien and smirked, then turned on her heel and practically skipped up the steps to her seat. Adrien went to his seat, sat down, and put his head in his hands.

 _My poor boy,_ Marinette thought. _He told me yesterday that I would be the first person he would talk to, but Lila is all up in his business every time I see him. I hope we get some project time this afternoon so I can see if he's OK._

"Class, take out your textbooks," Miss Bustier announced. "We will be covering History for the first half of the class, then the remainder of the school day will be devoted to your projects."

Marinette audibly sighed. Alya turned to her and asked, "Girl, how are you getting started on the project? It looks like the first day, Adrien had to leave. Then the second day, both of you had to leave. I know this isn't just a case of Marinette procrastinating and doing everything at the last second… there is something seriously going on! With both of you! I mean, look at the kid." Alya pointed at Adrien, who had slouched so far over it looked like he was asleep. "I'm worried about him. Nino's been trying to reach out, but Adrien hasn't been answering his texts with anything other than excuses about his father."

"Me too, Alya. Don't worry, I've got a plan," Marinette answered.

"An Operation: Secret Garden-style plan, or a real, I'm-going-to-talk-to-Adrien-personally plan?" Alya said with a wink.

"The second one, believe it or not. And it looks like we're probably not going to get much work done on the project, because I am going to spend that time grilling him."

"Grilling him, eh? You feel up to that?"

"Of course! I learned from the best!" Marinette laughed, and Miss Bustier cleared her throat, directing the attention of the two girls back to the front of the room, at least for the time being.

* * *

When it was time for class project work, the class shifted around to join their groups. Lila's hand shot up. "Miss Bustier? I just lost a contact lens and left my glasses at home. Can my group sit close to the front, please?"

"Yes, of course, Lila." The teacher scanned the room. "Chloe and Ivan, please switch seats with Lila's group."

With a huff, Chloe got up and moved to the back of the room, glaring at Lila on the way past.

Lila made sure to sit on the edge of the bench closest to Adrien.

 _Why is she all over him like that?_ Marinette wondered. "Hey," she said to Adrien, as she took her seat to his left.

"Hey," Adrien replied. "Look… I need to talk to you."

A thrill went through Marinette's body and she fought back a squeal. Instead, she said, "Of course! How can I help?"

"I'm… really sorry for not being the best partner to you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know that when we were picked to be partners, you had certain expectations of me, and I haven't been living up to those at all recently. There have been… _things_ … going on at home that I can't really talk about, and because of that I've been really distracted on the job. I've probably hurt you without intending to, and I understand if you don't want me as a partner anymore. But if you do, I promise to make all of this up to you. What do you say?"

Marinette's jaw dropped. _If I closed my eyes, that could have been Cat Noir saying the exact thing to me that I need to hear from him right now._ "Oh, Adrien… yes, of course we can still be partners." She reached over and squeezed his hand, ignoring the gasp from the table behind her. "Let's get to work. I don't think you have anything to make up to me, since I'm pretty sure I've let you down just as much." She smiled and tapped her tablet. "Let's start over and see where we can go."

Across the aisle, Lila scowled, but said nothing.

* * *

In an office of the TVI studio, Alec Cataldi was meeting with his boss. "Alec, there's no other way to put it. You're our only TV host. You handle all of the reality, entertainment, and competition shows on the network. And you've been doing a fine job of it. But… I think your face is getting stale. We're thinking of opening up the host slot to someone else."

"So you're planning on hiring someone else? That's great, I can use the extra time to work on things like nature specials, sports, and acting in soap operas!"

"No, Alec… you see, even though we appear to be the only viable television station in Paris, we have a very limited budget. We can only have one news person, one host, a weather girl - who we don't even pay, she just won a competition and works for us for free as a prize - a couple of producers, and me. I'm sure if things were different, we would be able to afford another host, but that's just not happening right now."

"So I'm fired?"

"No, you're not fired… yet. I have a new idea that we're going to be running with. Tonight, you're going to be hosting a competition show for the next TVI host. And you'll not only be hosting it, you'll be competing in it at the same time! And if you don't win… _then_ you'll be fired."

Alec stood up, fuming. _How am I being forced to compete for my own job?_

* * *

After school let out, Nino and Alya were hanging out on the school steps, both wanting to spend time with each other before going home.

Nino had his arm around Alya's shoulder, scratching her upper back and neck gently. His fingers caught on a chain. _Huh… I didn't get her a necklace._ "Hey, babe? You get a new necklace? I didn't think you were into jewelry like that."

Alya looked around to make sure they were alone. "Hey… about that. I was thinking of how to tell you this, but I had a… _visitor_ … this afternoon during lunch." She looked at Nino and raised her eyebrows to emphasize the word. "She was the one who gave me the necklace. Said I needed to hang onto it for a while."

"Oh, sweet! That's really cool. Do you think I'll be getting a charm bracelet soon?"

"That's hard to say, Nino. It didn't sound like she was giving out any more gifts right now. But sometime in the future, I imagine."

"Bummer. I miss heroing. You've done it, what… three times? Why don't the other heroes get a shot?"

"Well, I think that there are a couple of reasons. The first one is that I have the most experience out of the people she's asked. The other one is that only two people know who I am… you and her. It sounds like this gift is going to be kept a secret, at least for the time being."

"Ehh… I'm a little jealous, that's all. But I'm also proud of you! It's a really good thing. Besides, your job was running after akuma anyway, so might as well make it official, right?" Nino sighed wistfully.

Alya leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. "We talked for a bit today, and she confided some things in me that I can't really talk about just yet. But I can tell you one thing - we both think that Lila is _bad news_."

"What, her? She's harmless. She's had a very interesting life and some bad luck, that's all. She seems really nice, too."

Alya shook her head. "She's driving a wedge between the people in our class. Remember how, just a few weeks ago, we were all united at the picnic for Heroes Day? If that happened today, do you think it would happen the same way?"

"No-o-o. No."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Hm, well, I don't know. We have grown apart…"

"Why do you think we don't do things together as a class?"

"I don't know… busy? We're busy."

"I'll tell you why. It's because half the class has sided with Lila and half the class is on the fence. Even you get so defensive of Lila, it makes me a little uncomfortable! And poor Marinette… she's just trying to do her best, and you've almost completely shut her out. Do you know that she thinks she has _zero friends_ in that class? And she's the _Class Representative_ , for goodness' sake! Something's got to give."

"Whoa, babe… I don't want to get in the middle of girl wars. I'm pretty chill about a lot of stuff, and I like to let things ride, but I haven't noticed anybody treating anyone especially different. I do think Marinette has been a bit huffy with Lila, but I didn't mean to not be her friend anymore because of it."

Alya fixed him with a stare.

"OK, fine, I'll apologize to Marinette. I don't think Lila is out to drive the class apart, but I do agree with you that the class has been growing apart the past couple of weeks. Marinette can't be the only glue holding it together; it's not healthy."

"I knew I could count on you, babe." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

Marinette sat in her room, mentally reviewing the events of the day. _Wow, I can't believe what Adrien said to me today in class! That was the sweetest thing I've heard from… anyone, actually! I really hope he's doing better. I guess Tikki was right - showing a bit of interest really got me places I've only dreamed of going!_

 _I hope that I can make the same strides with Cat Noir. I'm not interested in him in the same way that I'm interested in Adrien, but he is clearly going through a hard time - both from Master Fu's account and his own. I never opened up to him much as Ladybug, but maybe I should drop that wall a bit? We are, after all, the only two people in the entire city who understand what it's like to lead this sort of double life. I'm glad that he trusts me as Marinette, though. It helps me understand a bit what to expect, even though there's a good chance he's going to go after Ladybug next time we meet. I wonder what Hawk Moth has on him that is making him do this? Maybe if he stops by before the next time Ladybug sees him, I can draw it out of him._

 _Lila hasn't been actively trying to draw people away from me, either, over the past couple of days. I'm sure she's cementing her relationships with the people she's already won over, though. And she is getting extremely close with Adrien! "Private tutoring," well, I don't believe that for one second. Something else is going on. And Adrien certainly doesn't appear to appreciate the attention, either, I've noticed. Maybe Lila has something on him? But what dirt could she possibly have on him? The poor boy barely gets to leave his house, and when he does, he's the super-sweetest boy on the planet. I don't want to press him on that, though, since we are developing a great relationship on our own… finally! If he needs to talk to me, and he's ready, he will. He's promised me that much._

 _And speaking of talking… I have to ask Tikki a few things. We never really talked about what Master Fu said to me this morning, and I know she was "there", but I still want her opinion._ "Tikki?" she called out.

"Marinette!" The red kwami flew out from her hiding place. "Today sounded like it went really well, don't you think?"

"It _did_ , Tikki! Thank you for all your encouragement with Adrien. I'll need your help with that later, too, by the way… I want to do something special for him tonight, if I can. But first… can we talk about some things I learned at Master Fu's this morning?"

"Of course, Marinette!" Tikki chirped. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, first I wanted to thank you for being such a great friend. You're always there for me and you seem to put up with a lot of my teenage girl problems. I'm sure that given how old you are, you're probably more than done with half of the stuff I complain about!"

"Oh, no, Marinette! That's one of the things I find the most fun! I mean, I _am_ the kwami of Creation. Creating relationships between people is one of my specialties!"

"That's good to know! Hopefully I won't spend the next few years pining over Adrien while Cat Noir chases me, though. I'd like to see that change soon." She chuckled. "Anyway… we have a very special relationship. Master Fu said that we were the most in tune with each other than any other Ladybug in history. Is that true?"

"It _is_ true, Marinette! The connection that we have has made you the best Ladybug I've ever worked with. Most Ladybugs in the past have taken much longer to get the hang of things. But because you are a naturally creative person, and because I am the kwami of Creation, we fuse and amplify each other."

Marinette hummed, then frowned slightly. "Tikki, does that mean that Cat Noir is a naturally destructive person? Is that why he's such a good Cat Noir?"

"Not exactly. Remember, I know who he is on the other side of the mask. I can't tell you, of course, but I can tell you that he is someone who is used to being disappointed and alone. He's told you as much when he's visited you. That part of him helps him match up with Plagg, his kwami, very well. But what makes him a good Cat Noir is his relationship with _you_ , actually."

"How so?"

"You two are two halves of a whole, more so than any other Ladybug and Cat Noir. It's his synergy with _you_ that makes him an excellent Cat Noir. And I think you've felt that, too. Even though he's been… not behaving as expected, recently, you haven't turned him away or shut him out, have you? You even _welcomed_ him outside the mask last night! And you're right to not be afraid of him. You two are bound together in such a way that it's difficult to describe. Some people might say soulmates, some might say yin and yang… but the truth is that you are drawn to each other, because you were made for each other."

Marinette shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "So… no matter what I do, I'm going to wind up with Cat Noir?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Marinette!" _Oh, if you only knew._ "Be his friend. Be _yourself_ around him. He's already starting to see the Ladybug in you. Give him the same chance that he is giving you. You'll see." _And your eyes will pop out of their sockets when you finally do._

"OK." Marinette paused. "OK. That's fair." She squared her shoulders. "I can do that." She took a few deep breaths. "Tikki? There was something else I wanted to talk to you about… about _our_ relationship. I got sidetracked with Cat Noir, but this is really important."

"Of course, Marinette! What is it?"

"...Master Fu mentioned that Hawk Moth and Cat Noir are abusing their kwamis somehow in order to stay transformed after they use their powers. Can you talk to me about that? I'm concerned for their kwamis… and for Kitty."

"This is a very delicate subject. I'm sure you've figured out that there is the possibility of you using multiple Lucky Charms in a battle. The Lucky Charm is a very positive power and the healing magic associated with it covers _everything_ , so there's really not a need to. With Hawk Moth… the original intention of the Butterfly Miraculous was to create champions, or heroes. To give people a bit of power that they need to accomplish something extraordinary. Not only has Hawk Moth twisted it for evil, he wishes to control his victims. So, he puts all of his energy into staying transformed, even though he shouldn't be. Normally the champions would have positive motivations so they wouldn't need to be as closely supervised."

"That makes sense."

"With Cat Noir, it's a bit different. You've noticed that the first Cataclysm is normal, and the ones afterwards get weaker and weaker. This worries me, Marinette. You see, in order for a Miraculous wearer to do that, they must pour a bit of their life force into the kwami to help sustain the transformation and use the power again."

"You're saying Cat Noir is _killing himself_ in order to use Cataclysm more than once?" Marinette gasped, horrified. A tear formed in the corner of her eye.

"Not necessarily, Marinette. But there can be… permanent damage. If you can get a close look, next time you see him, tell me what his ring looks like. I'll be able to better figure it out from that."

"That cat! Whatever Hawk Moth is offering him, it must be very special."

"Or Hawk Moth hasn't told him that, either because Hawk Moth doesn't know himself, or because he's intentionally withholding it. Marinette… I know you're concerned. You need to focus on defending against Hawk Moth, and the situation with Cat Noir will sort itself out. I promise. Just… in the meantime… love that boy. Or learn to love him. He needs it."

* * *

Next time:

* Is Alec's reality show called _France's Next Top Akuma_?

* "Do you purr outside of the costume, too?"

* The pot is being watched... will the water boil?


	5. A Night At the Opera

The limousine pulled up to the Agreste mansion, and let Adrien and Lila off in front of the house. Nathalie was waiting outside the front door. "Children, you are to spend the evening watching television with me. Please do your schoolwork while you wait. Adrien, I have canceled your Chinese lesson for the day."

"Shouldn't I be practicing piano?" Adrien muttered.

"Your father is excusing you from piano practice tonight only. This is more important."

Adrien sighed and sat down on the couch.

Lila sat down next to him and pulled out her notebook. "Does your offer to help me catch up with my schoolwork still stand?" She smiled at him. "Come on, I don't bite!" She giggled playfully and added, "I don't think I'll ever be as good a student as you. What's your secret?"

"Um… I was homeschooled a lot. And tutored. Learning quickly and keeping up with homework, especially with my busy schedule, was the expectation. I guess it comes naturally to me now. I was a bit ahead of the class, academics-wise, when the school year started, so some of this stuff is review, too."

"That's _so amazing_ , Adrien." Lila moved closer to him. "With my parents moving around a lot for their job, they focused more on a 'life experience' sort of education for me. I got out a lot. I saw and visited a lot of places. Instead of learning about math, I learned how people work. I got _very_ good at that," she smirked, twirling a finger in her hair.

* * *

Marinette was sitting at her desk working on homework when her mother called "Dinner!" from downstairs in the kitchen. She finished what she was writing, opened the door, and took her seat at the table.

"Mom, this smells great! I love cassoulet, and I'm so hungry I could probably eat the entire pot's worth!"

"Now, now, Marinette, save some for your father, he's worked hard today," Sabine smiled.

"Yeah, Papa, how was work today?" Marinette asked, spooning her dinner into a bowl.

"It was good… Mrs. Chamack is having us make another cake for something going on at work." Tom made a face. "They want it to look like a television with a microphone coming out of it. I'm unclear on the reason, but the concept seems interesting enough, anyway."

"Speaking of TV, Marinette, you've been in your room doing homework all week long. We're ordering you to come down and have fun with us tonight. There's supposed to be another one of those reality competition shows on, and we're saving space on the couch for you!"

Marinette laughed. "Thanks, Mom. I'm actually almost done with my homework, for what feels like the first time in forever. I could use some time to veg out."

"Everything going OK in school?" Tom said around a mouthful of food.

"Any more of those… social problems you mentioned the other morning?" Sabine added.

"They've gotten… better? I think." Marinette paused. "The dynamics of our class have definitely changed over the past few weeks, but I know who my friends are. I'm definitely not alone! In fact, we've started a new project in school, and we're partnering up."

"And who's your partner?"

Marinette hurriedly stuffed food into her mouth. "Ayreeun," she mumbled. _Here it comes…_

"Oh, Tom, dear, did you hear that? Marinette's partnered with _Adrien!_ I'm surprised if she's managed to get any work done so far… or that she's managed to keep it quiet from us for this long, now that I think about it!"

"Now now, Sabine, just because our little girl has his pictures plastered all over the walls of her room doesn't mean she's going to fall to pieces every time she's around him… right, Marinette?"

"Mom, Papa…" Marinette grumbled. "It's _not like that!_... anymore," she conceded, chuckling. "Adrien's been going through a rough time at home, and I'm just working on being his friend for the time being. If something comes from that, you know I will be the first person not arguing about it, but right now that boy needs a friend! I can do friends," she grinned. "It's crushes and fantasies about getting married and living happily ever after that I have a hard time with."

"Are you putting romance on hold, then, dear?" Sabine asked, with her eyebrows raised.

 _You two are made for each other. Love that boy._ Tikki's words from earlier came to her mind. "We'll see what happens. I guess I'm waiting for the universe to show me a sign!"

"You know, the universe showed me a sign when your mom showed up for a day at the beach wearing…"

"TOM!" Sabine threw a piece of bread at him.

* * *

Nathalie put her finger to the earpiece in her ear. "Children, I'm told it's time. Please put away your homework." She turned the TV on and tuned into TVI, where the host was currently being forced to undergo a series of brutal physical challenges, all while having to maintain composure enough to read from a teleprompter.

 _"Tonight, on TVI - ow! - we are bringing you - oof! - the newest reality show, which is apparently called HOW TO KILL YOUR TV HOST! No, sorry… ha, ha, just a joke… it's 'Be the Next TV Host', starring me, Alec Cataldi, and - AAH! - four other contestants! Thanks to our main sponsor, Gabriel Fashion. Our first event is called Keeping Your Cool, and with that flamethrower over my head, it's - eep! - earned that title. I hope the people operating these remote-control cameras can keep them out of harm's way!"_

* * *

Sabine looked at Tom. "Wasn't that the man who was over here when we did that reality show in the bakery? He seemed nice."

"He was nice, even though I've got some pretty bad memories of that show. I don't think he should have to, um," he looked closer at the screen. "Uhh.. have to crawl under barbed wire while someone shoots flames over his head, though."

Marinette plopped down between her parents with a bowl of popcorn. _The things people will do to get on television_ , she thought, shoving a handful in her mouth.

* * *

"Nathalie, why are we watching this? This doesn't seem like the quality educational programming that Father would expect me to watch. What gives?"

"What gives, Adrien, is that host. Or, rather, we expect him to give. Your father has a butterfly already at the station, waiting to strike."

Lila pulled Adrien closer to her and started rubbing his arm. "Come _on_ , Adrien! Let's just enjoy this before the _real_ fun begins!"

Adrien folded his arms and stared at the TV silently.

* * *

Marinette yelped as Alec stepped wrong on the high-wire and plummeted 50 feet. _"REALITY HOSTS ARE EXPECTED TO HANDLE ANYTHING THAT IS THROWN AT THEM!"_ he yelled as he fell. _"EVEN WHEN THE COMPETITION IS FOR HIGHLY-TRAINED ATHLETES DOING DEATH-DEFYING STUNTS!"_ He landed in the safety net and slowly rolled off. _"Now, this challenge is designed to show what a circus life on this side of the camera can be!"_ He laughed nervously and glanced to his right. _"IS THAT A_ LION _? WHY ISN'T IT IN A CAGE?"_ He screamed and ran off, yelling _"THIS IS NUTS! THE OTHER CONTESTANTS HAVEN'T EVEN HAD A_ TURN _YET!"_

* * *

"You know, Adrien, with your brains and my street smarts, we'd make a pretty formidable team." Lila leaned into him. "I know we haven't exactly been friends in the past, but I think working with you these past few days has been _amazing._ " Her hand moved from his arm to his chest. "Wouldn't you agree, sidekick?" Lila licked her lips.

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut in response. _None of this is happening, none of this is happening,_ he repeated to himself.

On the television, the host screamed as a swarm of bees was released into the bulletproof glass booth where he had barricaded himself in.

* * *

"What are they trying to _do_ to that poor man? This is getting uncomfortable. Tom, let's put a movie on or something."

Just then, Alec grabbed the camera drone from the air and aimed it at his face. _"That is IT! I don't know what is going on here, but I've HAD IT! I QUIT! NOTHING like this was ever in the job description!"_

His tirade was interrupted as he went slack and a purple energy signature illuminated his face.

 _Good thing Alya's used to getting text notifications of Akuma battles. Ladybug can hide in plain sight while I let Rena Rouge know she's needed._ Marinette pulled out her phone and shot Alya a text message.

 **[Marinette] Akuma at the TV station! Thought I'd be the first to tell you, for once :-)**

 **[Alya] Thanks, girl. On it! xoxo**

Marinette stood up suddenly. "Oh! Um… Alya just messaged me about a big assignment that's due Monday that I totally forgot about until right now! I'll be up in my room working on it, and concentrating very hard, so don't bother knocking!" She kissed her parents on the cheek and bolted upstairs.

"Ready to go, Tikki? SPOTS ON!"

Ladybug swung her way through the Paris night, on her way to the TV station.

* * *

Alya put away her phone. _Guess that's my cue. Here goes nothing!_ "Trixx, LET'S POUNCE!"

Rena Rouge climbed out of her bedroom window and ran across the rooftops toward the upcoming battle.

* * *

Lila put her arm around Adrien's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "Now comes the _good part_!" she sneered. Adrien fumbled behind him for a pillow and put it between them.

* * *

Ladybug and Rena Rouge were perched on the roof of the TVI building. "OK, what do we know so far? Any specifics on the akuma, Ladybug?"

"That's a negative, Rena Rouge! We'll have to get inside unnoticed and see what's up."

The superheroes opened the door to the stairwell and crept down. When they got to the first door into the main building, Ladybug opened it and peeked around the corner.

"Coast is clear," she whispered. "Follow me."

Rena Rouge trailed Ladybug to the double-doors leading to a TV studio. On the other side of the doors, they heard a voice yelling.

* * *

"PEOPLE OF PARIS!" the akuma bellowed, looking into the camera. "They thought my face was stale, so I will make everyone's faces stale!"

* * *

 _"My name is Rictus!"_ He pulled a production assistant into the shot. The skin on the man's face had been pulled so tight, he had the appearance of a skeleton.

Adrien gasped. Lila laughed.

 _"Soon everybody in Paris will look like this! Unless… unless… Ladybug, I know you're watching! Bring me your Miraculous and spare the city!"_

* * *

Ladybug pushed open the door to the studio. "I'm more than just watching, Rictus! I'm here, and we're going to take you down!" She fired her yo-yo at the akuma, attempting to ensnare him.

Rictus darted out of the way and fired a face-freezing bolt in the direction of the superheroes. Ladybug and Rena Rouge darted in different directions.

 _OK, Cat Noir and I are used to going in different directions and working with each other almost on instinct. This is going to be just like starting over; I hope Rena Rouge is a quick study…_ "Rena Rouge! Look out!"

* * *

Lila bounced in her seat and clapped her hands as the trio watched Rictus send multiple energy blasts toward Ladybug and Rena Rouge. "Yeah! Get them! GET THEM!... Adrien," she said sweetly, her lips inches from his face, "you're not encouraging our friend _nearly_ as much as you should be. Don't you agree, Nathalie?" She walked her fingers up Adrien's arm.

Nathalie hummed and said nothing.

* * *

 _We're doing a great job fending him off, but we're not making any progress stopping him here,_ thought Ladybug. "Lucky Charm!" she called. A large red-and-black spotted inner tube appeared. _What am I supposed to do with this?_ Ladybug squinted and looked around. _Rena Rouge, that chamber…hmm… the akuma must be in his bracelet... ok, I got it!_ "Rena Rouge! Let's get him in that chamber over there!"

The heroes continued their assault on Rictus, driving him back toward the bulletproof glass booth while dodging the akuma's blasts. With a well-paced kick, Rena Rouge knocked the villain into the booth and Ladybug shut the door!

* * *

Adrien watched as the familiar energy signature illuminated the akuma victim's face. _"You're finished, Ladybug! You used your special power and will transform back soon! You can't get in here, and you don't have your little sidekick to Cataclysm his way in! All I have to do now is wait until you're helpless, and then take your Miraculous!"_ The energy signature flickered out.

Lila leaned over and put her head on Adrien's shoulder. "It's OK, Adrien… looks like we'll be able to win this one without your precious Ladybug getting hurt _too_ badly. Of course," she drawled, "once we know who she is I'll be able to go after her in her secret identity, too. _Nothing_ will be able to keep me from her."

Adrien squirmed to the edge of the couch, but quickly ran out of room.

* * *

Ladybug crawled over to her partner and said, "We need to get him out of that chamber! I've got what it takes to trap him, but I need your help. Distract him as I circle back around."

"You got it, Ladybug!" Rena Rouge turned her attention to the chamber. "Hey, smile guy! Would you like to hear some music while you wait? I know just the thing!" She raised the flute to her lips as Ladybug gave her a thumbs-up out of the Akuma's line of sight. Rena Rouge played a melody, and a swarm of bees appeared, buzzing and ready to invade the villain's sanctuary!

"NO! Not the bees! ANYTHING but the BEES!"

The swarm darted toward a small opening in the top of the chamber!

"Aaaaah! My eyes! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rictus burst forth from the chamber, and Ladybug ran up behind him and slammed the inner tube over his torso, trapping his arms at his sides! Grabbing the bracelet on his wrist, she broke it and watched as a purple butterfly made its way toward the ceiling of the studio.

* * *

Adrien couldn't help his smile as Ladybug waved goodbye to the purified butterfly. He, Lila, and Nathalie watched as Rena Rouge grabbed a camera and pointed it at Ladybug.

 _"Hawk Moth? You may think you've got the upper hand right now, but I'm telling you that it doesn't matter who you hurt, who you threaten, or who you go after. We're turning up the heat. We will find you, and when we do, it will be all over. BUG. OUT."_

Lila grimaced and gripped a pillow so hard her knuckles turned white.

Nathalie turned off the television. Gabriel entered the room behind her, seething. "So… Ladybug thinks she can just call me out like that? I'll just need a bigger, better team! She is going to be in for the surprise of her short little _life!_ Nathalie, Lila… come with me." He turned on his heel and walked toward his office. Lila ran her hand along Adrien's thigh before getting up and following Nathalie out the door.

* * *

Adrien sat there in silence, his breath hitching. _I've gotta get out of here._ He got off the couch and bolted for his room. He barely made it into his bathroom before he vomited. Rinsing his mouth out at his sink, he looked at himself in the mirror. _I know I've made some questionable choices, but I certainly don't deserve what happened there. Lila knows that I'm not interested in her at all, so what is she trying to do? It's like she thinks she owns me or something, all because she knows my secret._

He turned on the shower and stripped down. _I've got half a mind to burn these clothes._ He stepped under the hot water, grabbed a bar of soap and a washcloth, and began scrubbing. _Part of my job as a model is to literally give my body to the photographers and designers so they can do what they want with me. They command, I do. Tonight… tonight was different. At least when I model, it's understood that I'm agreeing to what goes on._ He rinsed off, turned off the shower, and grabbed a towel.

 _Is she just trying to torture me? Or is this her way of showing me how she feels? Whatever that was… it wasn't love._

 _I'm starting to feel that NOTHING in this house is love._

He dressed in his pajamas, called for Cat Noir, and vaulted out the window.

* * *

Alya climbed through her bedroom window and waited for her transformation to expire. _I still need to ask Trixx how to de-transform. Maybe some other time..._ She pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolled through her contacts, and tapped Nino's name.

Nino immediately answered. "Babe? You OK?"

"Yeah, Nino, I'm OK," Alya soothed. "Did you watch the fight?"

"Yeah, Mom was watching that new reality show and they kept it right on the battle after that host guy went mental. You did pretty good!"

"Aww, thanks! You really do care!"

"Where was Cat Noir? I'm surprised he didn't show up," Nino frowned.

"That's a good question, Nino. Ladybug clued me in a bit on this, and I'm not sure how much I was sworn to secrecy on, but I think it's safe to say that Cat Noir's in trouble, and it's going to be up to us to save him."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble? And _us_ rescuing him? Like _us_ as in you and Ladybug _us_ or _us_ as in me too or-"

"I don't know! But you saw what Ladybug said at the end. Keep an eye out for superheroes knocking at your window, though."

"Alya? I don't think Ladybug knows where I live. Can I crash at your place for a bit?"

"You are just trying to get me to have you stay the night," Alya said flatly.

"Is it working?"

"... _Yes._ Get over here as fast as you can, dork."

Nino smiled. "Be right there," he said, and thumbed the _End Call_ button. He grabbed his coat, put his headphones on, and took off toward his girlfriend's apartment.

* * *

Marinette lay on her bed. _The suit may make me immune to physical exhaustion, but mentally, I'm almost spent. Not quite sure what I was thinking by calling Hawk Moth out like that. Master Fu said to not seek him out… but I'm not seeking him out, I'm just letting him know that I'm ready for him if he tries anything. That raises the stakes quite a bit, though. I wonder if Master Fu saw it. I hope I didn't let him down. It just felt… right._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft _thump_ from the balcony overhead and a knocking at her trapdoor. Marinette took a deep breath, swung her legs over the side of her bed, and climbed her ladder. She pushed the hatch open and climbed onto the balcony, where she saw a tall, slender blond figure with his back to her.

"Cat Noir? You came back!" Marinette advanced and put her hand on his left shoulder.

Cat Noir turned around and gave her a weak smile. "Hello, Marinette. Sorry if I'm bothering you tonight. I just… wanted to see you. Is that OK?" He put his hand on top of hers.

Marinette was shocked to see the normally bright green paw print on his ring faded significantly. _I'll have to tell Tikki about that. If what she told me is true…_ She smiled at him. "Of course! My friends are always welcome. Can I get you anything? A pastry? Some hot cocoa, maybe?"

"Oh… that sounds wonderful, Marinette, but I'll settle for those ears of yours tonight." His eyes flicked toward her earrings and he chuckled nervously.

 _If he knows I'm Ladybug, this visit could go south FAST. But… how could he know?_ The words of her kwami came to mind. _Give him a chance. Love that boy. He needs it._ "I think you'll find that I'm _all_ ears tonight, Cat Noir. What's on your mind?" She motioned to the lounge chair, and then pulled up a small stool and sat down next to him.

Cat Noir sat in the lounge chair. "Thanks," he nearly whispered. "It's been… a rough couple of days."

"I can imagine," ventured Marinette. _Here goes nothing._ "I saw the footage on TV tonight. You… didn't make it to the battle. Is everything OK?"

Cat Noir's breath hitched. _I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry…_ "No. Nothing is OK. School is a disaster, my… home life has never been the greatest but is now somehow even more horrible. My professional life is a shambles. Being Cat Noir used to be my refuge from all my problems. But now… now, it's just gone and made everything worse. I almost wish that I never had become Cat Noir, you know? But the one… the one person who kept me going probably hates my guts. Honestly, Marinette? Right now, you're all I have."

 _"Do not try to determine Cat Noir's identity," Master Fu said. Well, to heck with it, if I'm the only friend he's got, then I'm going to be this boy's friend._ Marinette reached up tentatively with her right hand and gently scratched Cat Noir behind his costume ears. He flinched at the unexpected touch, but quickly pressed his head into Marinette's hand, silently urging her to continue. She suppressed a giggle. "I'm glad you feel like you have _somebody_ , at least, Cat Noir. Can you… tell me more about what's going on at home? I'll understand if you can't."

"He's more of a father to her than he ever was to me," the boy whispered.

Marinette said nothing and kept scratching.

"There's a girl. She's our age… anyway. She's been over to the house a lot for the past few days. Maybe even longer than that. I don't know when this all started. And my fa… the person who can see over that wall I mentioned yesterday, it's like he's a completely different person around her. I mean, he's a completely different person than I imagined he was period, but this is something I never would have guessed would happen."

"So you feel like this girl is taking something you're owed?"

Cat Noir hummed. "No, not exactly. More like she's getting something I haven't had in a while. It's like even though she's new on the scene, she's his favorite, or something."

"Oh, Cat Noir… you feel replaced?" The scratching was replaced by Marinette running her fingers gently through the superhero's hair. _I can't believe I'm petting Cat Noir. On my balcony. At night. What would my parents say if they found out? What would *Alya* say? What would ADRIEN say?_

"Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Replaced. She knows she's doing it, too. In public she acts all friendly to me, but I know that deep down there's nothing but contempt. And then today… today was really weird."

"How so?"

"We were stuck on my couch doing homework, waiting for… a certain program to come on the TV. And she got all flirty and touchy-feely with me. I don't think it was because she likes me, though. I think she was trying to show me that she _could_ do that, if that makes sense. It made me sick, but since I'm expected to be a good host and to be her… partner... I didn't feel like I could do anything about it. So I just sat there and took it. I should have told her to stop, or that I felt uncomfortable, but… we were being supervised, and I think if I had said anything, it would have gotten back to… him," he finished.

Marinette hummed and withdrew her hand. Cat Noir gently took it and said, " _You're_ good, though. Don't worry." He looked at her and smiled softly.

She reached over again and started scratching across his shoulder blades. A quiet rumble came from Cat Noir's chest.

"Umm… Cat Noir… are you _purring?_ "

The rumble stopped as suddenly as it started. Cat Noir rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry… it's soothing."

"It's OK! If it helps you feel better, you don't have to stop. I… I think it's kind of cute." She blushed and kept scratching Cat Noir's back, coaxing the purr to return. "Does your purring come with the mask, or can you purr out of costume, too?"

"No, unfortunately," Cat Noir laughed. "This is purely thanks to my kwami. Oh… you probably don't know what a kwami is. My Miraculous comes with a… spirit, or god, or… I'm not really sure how to describe him. Anyway, when I transform, we kind of fuse and it looks like I inherit some of his traits. I get his eyes… and his purr. At least I don't get fangs or the ability to hack up super-hairballs," he mused.

"OK, that's gross, and if you puke on my balcony, I'm not cleaning it up. Do I need to get a spray bottle to shoo you away?"

"I'm immune to spray bottles." He stuck his tongue out at her.

Marinette was silent for a few seconds. "You know what, that purring _is_ soothing. Hang on a moment," she said before getting up and disappearing down the hatch. She popped back up almost immediately, carrying a blue blanket. "How much time do you have tonight?"

"Me? Probably another hour or so, why?"

Marinette pulled out her phone and set a timer for forty-five minutes. She set the phone on the stool and motioned for Cat Noir to move over in the lounge chair. "May I?"

Cat Noir obliged and scooted over a bit. "Be my guest!"

Marinette sat down next to him and pulled his head to her shoulder. When he had settled in, she pulled the blanket over them and started running her fingers through his hair again.

Cat Noir closed his eyes and purred.

Marinette smiled, tilted her head, and gave him a small kiss on top of his head. She leaned back in her chair and looked at the sky. " _Love that boy"… I guess this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. He's pretty sweet when he's not in superhero mode._

* * *

The stars twinkled in the nighttime sky.

* * *

The alarm that Marinette had set on her phone gently chimed, rousing the two teens from their comfort. Marinette fumbled for the phone and knocked it off of the stool before she could silence it.

Cat Noir stood up and stretched. "Marinette… thanks. I really needed that. I don't think I've relaxed that much in months, and certainly not at all this past week." He reached down and touched his toes, bouncing a bit.

"It's what friends do," shrugged Marinette. "I'm glad I was able to be here for you. Hang on - I know you have to leave, I just want to give you something. Be right back." She picked up the blanket and disappeared into her room again. Less than a minute later, she re-appeared with a slip of paper, which she held out to him. "Here… my phone number. Use it anytime; I mean it."

"Thanks, Marinette." He took the paper gratefully and put it in his pocket. _I already have this, so I'll have to get a different phone to text her from, I guess. But compared to what my life's become, that's a very small problem._ "For everything."

Marinette moved shyly closer to him. Standing on her tiptoes, she drew him into a tight hug. _This feels… right. And sudden, but magic has a funny way of working sometimes. And he obviously feels just as drawn to me as I do to him. Why else would he have shown up here out of the blue that one night? And he's kept coming back. My poor, poor Kitty. If he needs someone to love him, then I am going to *be* that someone._

Moving back slightly, she kissed him on the cheek. She drew back farther to look at Cat Noir's face. His eyes were wide open, and his hand touched where Marinette had kissed him.

It was Cat Noir's turn to move shyly closer. He leaned down and kissed Marinette tenderly on the cheek, letting his lips linger near her face. "I don't know when I'm going to see you again. And I _know_ I said that last night, and here I am," he half-chuckled, half-whispered. "There's something big that's going to happen soon, and I don't know what it is, and I don't know when it is… but tonight's battle frustrated him. He mentioned getting a bigger, better team. I'm in too deep, and I can't get out of it now. Please promise me that no matter what happens, you'll be safe."

"I promise, Cat Noir. You be safe, too," she whispered back.

"Marinette, I… I…"

"Shh. It'll be OK." She turned her head toward him and threaded her fingers through the hair on the back of his head.

He moved in closer and their lips met.

* * *

Five minutes later, Cat Noir was leaping across the rooftops toward the Agreste mansion. _Wow. That wasn't how I was imagining this night would go at all! Marinette's been a good friend to me on both sides of the mask, but I guess I was so blinded by Ladybug that I wasn't able to see something that was right in front of me. I have a feeling that this is going to be over soon, but when it's over, will Marinette accept Cat Noir? Will there even *be* a Cat Noir for Marinette to accept? Or will she have to settle for me as Adrien?_ He vaulted through his open bedroom window and de-transformed. Plagg slowly floated away toward the nest that Adrien had made for him out of an old t-shirt.

 _There was a time I could talk to Plagg about things like this, but I think that ship sailed a few days ago. I'm really going to have to make this up to him. I'm going to have to make this up to a lot of people. Sacrificing every relationship I have outside of the family for an opportunity to bring Mother back? It's how I was raised: serve the family, there is nothing more important than family, Father's word is law. But look at where that's getting me. I've actually made friends outside of the family for once in my life, and I have to push them away because duty calls. If this is what family is supposed to be, I'm not excited about it._

Adrien sneaked down to the kitchen to get some food. _Here's where it all started… with part of Cat Noir rummaging through the cupboards._ He laughed bitterly to himself. _Let's see… ah, here it is. I'll just take this back to my room._ He peeked out the door, looked both ways, then mounted the stairs two-at-a-time, closing the bedroom door softly behind him.

"Plagg," he said.

The kwami didn't respond.

Adrien unwrapped the package he brought from the kitchen and placed it on his desk. "I brought you something. Think of it as a peace offering… and an apology."

Plagg rolled over to face the gift and sniffed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for my family, I'm sorry for how they've treated you, I'm sorry for how _I've_ treated you… I'm sorry for this situation that I got us into. I didn't consider the cost before I signed us up."

Plagg sniffed again.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is… I miss you. I miss talking to you. I miss your friendship. And I'll probably have to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, assuming that it's even _possible_ at this point. We had a good relationship, and now the only reason you're in the same room as me is because I ordered you to be. I screwed up, Plagg. Looks like Cat Noir's powers of destruction finally caught up to me outside of the mask, as well." Adrien walked over to his bed, lay down on his back, and closed his eyes, crying softly.

"Adrien…" a weak voice called.

Adrien sat up and bolted over to his desk. "Plagg?"

"If… if… you're trying to bribe me…" He sniffed at the wheel of expensive cheese again. "...it's working."

"PLAGG!" Adrien cried, scooping up the kwami into a hug.

"Ow! Shh… not so loud, you'll bring the whole household over here!" The kwami's voice was barely louder than a whisper. "I'm very weak. You're going to need me soon, and I'm going to have to be well-rested before that happens."

"Plagg…" Adrien croaked. "What have I done?"

"You did what a lot of people in your situation would have done, Adrien. I'm over five thousand years old! Do you think I haven't seen worse? Now, I'm serious… I need to rest. Slice up some of that cheese for me; it will help. Then go to bed. You will need to rest, too."

Adrien picked up a knife and carved off some cheese for his kwami. "I love you, Plagg."

"I know, Adrien." Plagg lay back down and nibbled at the cheese.

After the lights were out and Adrien's breathing had leveled, Plagg added "I love you too, kid."

* * *

Marinette dropped down into her room and closed the hatch behind her. Tikki was sitting on her pillow with a giant smile on her face. "You did a great job of taking my advice, Marinette! Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do I want to talk about it? Tikki, I had _no idea_ that was going to happen! When Cat Noir came over here yesterday and we talked, I was surprised at how much he opened up to me. He even told me that he wished he could drop the mask and tell me _everything!_ Tonight… well, let's just say that his home life must be worse than I even thought, especially if he is risking getting in trouble with whomever to sneak out. And he's so sweet when he's not trying to be all flashy and like a superhero cartoon. He's quiet, and sincere, and vulnerable… which is pretty much the exact opposite of how he is around Ladybug."

"I told you, Marinette! All you had to do was give him a chance and you would see how he really is! And… that must have been something you liked, seeing as how the night ended," Tikki teased.

"TIKKI! _I kissed Cat Noir!_ And he _kissed me back!_ That was… quick. But it felt so right! I mean, think about it! I had to work up the courage to give Adrien a kiss on the cheek for _months!_ I still have a hard time talking to him, sometimes… but with Cat Noir, it just…" she paused.

"Well, you have kissed him before," giggled the kwami.

"Dark Cupid doesn't count, Tikki! But… you're right, I was just so comfortable around him, and he opened up to me like that, and oh man that boy is just having a rough time right now and it also kind of felt like petting a cat so I just leaned down and kissed him on his head like I would a real cat so"

"BREATHE, Marinette!" Tikki admonished. "Slow down, and take a few deep breaths."

"Wow… so yeah, Tikki, I took your advice, and gave him a chance, and here we are."

"Here we are," agreed Tikki. "And where do you go?"

"Well, before we _really_ kissed, he mentioned that Hawk Moth was going to get a bigger, better team. I guess that means I need to go to Master Fu's and get myself a bigger, better team also."

"That's a great idea, Marinette. Did you look at Cat Noir's ring at all, or were you too focused on his lips?"

Marinette threw a stuffed animal at her friend. "Ha ha, Tikki. I actually _did_ remember to look at his ring. It was… different."

"Different in what way?"

"Well, it was still black, of course. But the paw print is usually a bright green. Instead of it being bright, it was faded… almost like it is when his time is running out. But the whole thing was like that, not just one or two of the pads. And he was here for well over an hour, too, and I didn't hear any countdown. What does that mean, Tikki?"

The kwami's eyes narrowed. "If it means what I think it means, then Cat Noir's not the _only_ one in trouble," she spat.

* * *

Marinette handed Tikki a large cookie and pulled out the flip phone that Master Fu had given her. _Here we go… I've got to let him know I'm coming so that he's ready._ Scrolling to the lone contact and pressing the green _Dial_ button, she held the phone up to her ear, holding her breath.

"Yes?" the voice on the other end responded.

"Master? The water's about to boil. I need to come pick up the noodles."

"I saw what you did earlier. The noodles will be ready when you arrive. Come quickly."

"Yes, Master." Marinette flipped the phone closed and called for her transformation. Three seconds later, Ladybug streaked across the sky toward rue Poirot.

* * *

Ladybug mounted the stairs to the second floor three at a time. _I wish I could use my yo-yo to get around in staircases,_ she thought absently. When she reached Master Fu's door, she gave three soft knocks.

The door swung open. Master Fu hadn't lied: he was holding a runed box in each hand. "Go, Ladybug. Paris needs you. The fate of your partner - and the Miraculous - is in your very capable hands. Good luck, Ladybug." He handed her the runed boxes and shut and locked the door.

Ladybug opened each box to check the contents. _A bracelet and a comb… who to visit first?_ She took her mental bearings of the city. _Nino's closer… actually… I think this might be a job for Rena Rouge. But knowing them, they're probably together anyway! Ugh, stop overthinking things! Just go deliver your packages._ She swung away toward her best friend's apartment.

* * *

Next time:

* Ladybug takes Hawk Moth to school

* …or is it the other way around?

* "I know where you spent the past two nights…"

* Desperate times call for desperate measures


	6. A Hard Day's Night

Alya and Nino were snuggling together on the couch when they heard a faint tapping at the window. Nino scrambled to his feet and let Alya open it to admit Ladybug. "See, I told you, dude!" he whisper-yelled. "She would come _here_ to look for me!"

Alya and Ladybug gave Nino a _what_ look as he danced around, pumping his fist.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and scolded, "Nino, you've gotta focus here! I'm guessing you either saw the battle tonight or Alya's told you about it. Things are starting to heat up, and we don't know when the next battle is going to be. I do know from… a reliable source… that Hawk Moth is assembling a team, and he may strike at any moment.

"Carapace. I'm not sure I'll have the time to get the Miraculous to you when that happens. I need you to guard this with your life and keep your eyes and ears peeled. Alya can help you with that. You'll know when you're needed. Can I count on you?" She held out one of the runed boxes.

Nino swallowed and took the box. "Of course, Ladybug. Alya filled me in a bit as to what was going on. So, it's going to be us three against Hawk Moth to rescue Cat Noir?"

"...Something like that, Nino. Be ready. And, be careful." _I hope Cat Noir still thinks he *can* be rescued. Or that he's worth it._ "I've got another stop to make. Pay attention. Bug out!" She turned and leaped through the window, swinging off in the direction of Le Grand Paris.

"Babe, I'm worried. This is going to be worse than Heroes Day, isn't it?" Nino opened the box and put the bracelet on. Wayzz materialized in front of him.

"Oh yes, it's going to be much worse," Wayzz intoned.

* * *

Ladybug landed silently on a balcony near the top floor of Le Grand Paris. She knocked on the balcony door and waited. _The Queen Bee signal isn't plugged in… maybe I should… nah, don't want to tip my hand to Hawk Moth._ The door opened behind her and she turned to face Chloé.

"Ladybug? What are you doing on my balcony?"

"I'm looking for Queen Bee," Ladybug teased. "Is she around?"

"You… you're looking for Queen Bee? And you're coming here _yourself_ to ask for my help?! Of course, of course! What do we have to do?"

"Right now, we just wait. The opportunity will come sooner than you think. But I have to warn you, Chloé… you must be _very_ careful. Since your identity as Queen Bee is publicly known, you are a bigger target than anyone else. Hawk Moth may try to win you over to his side. He may tempt you with things you might not be able to resist. He may even threaten your family or friends. You'll have to be strong, Chloé. Will you be strong?"

"Ladybug, if I'm used to _anything_ , I'm used to Hawk Moth using the people around me. Look at all my classmates who have been akumatized! And then at Heroes Day, when he used my own family against me to akumatize me… again? I've learned a lot from that. And I know that together, we make an unstoppable team."

Ladybug nodded and held out the runed box to Chloé. The latter opened it, and Pollen appeared in a ball of golden light. "It is good to see you again, my Queen," the kwami buzzed.

Chloé put the comb in her hair. "Thanks, Ladybug. I know you had to learn to trust me, and I'm glad that you do. You even came here yourself tonight instead of sending Cat Noir! I'm honored!"

"About that, Chloé. If you see Cat Noir, use your spinning top to communicate with me as soon as you can. He may be working with Hawk Moth, and since he knows who you are and how to find you, Hawk Moth could send him over to recruit you, too."

" _Cat Noir_ \- working with _Hawk Moth?_ How did this happen?"

"I can't tell you exactly how I know. But that's where we are right now. I can't say this enough: _be careful._ I'll be in touch."

"You've got it, Ladybug. Come on, Pollen, I want you to tell me about what you've been doing since I saw you last. As for me, I..."

The blonde and her kwami went back inside and closed the door. Satisfied, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo out to the closest building. _One more visit to make tonight. I hope this works._

* * *

In a dimly-lit, cavernous room, three people plotted their final victory.

"Volpina, I will need your skills to distract the heroes and keep them off-balance. You are getting better at hand-to-hand combat, but your illusions will be more powerful. Nathalie… I will trust you to remain in the shadows until the time is right. I don't want to run the risk of akumatizing you again and having you augment my powers. With the psychic bond I have been strengthening with my akumas, having too many akumas out there would weaken me too greatly. You will have to wait until the time is right before making your appearance. Our goal is to get Ladybug's Miraculous, since we already have Cat Noir on our side."

"If he is on our side, sir, then why isn't he down here?"

"He cannot know _all_ of our plans, Nathalie. I sense that his feelings for his former friends may still be strong enough for him to get caught in the middle. I would rather not have to injure him more than I already have. Still, if the opportunity arises, I will not hesitate to… _ensure_ … that he knows what he is fighting for. That should be enough to keep him cooperating. Now, everybody go get some rest. We will begin at dawn, when they least expect it."

Lila and Nathalie left the atrium. Gabriel turned on a set of lights, illuminating the sarcophagus that housed his wife Emilie's body.

"We will be reunited soon, my love."

He turned off the lights and took the secret passage back to his office.

* * *

Ladybug paced a bit on the rooftop of a building across from the Agreste mansion. _No lights on… don't want to wake him up, he's been a wreck. Despite everything that's happened in the past few hours, I still can't get Adrien off my mind. I just want to check on him and not make things worse. Ughhh… you're overthinking things again! Just go with your instincts on this one._ "Spots off," she whispered.

Her kwami appeared next to her as, in a flash of pink light, Ladybug became Marinette. "Marinette, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm sure, Tikki. And besides, my suit doesn't have a pocket for my phone!" She rummaged in her purse, handing a cookie to Tikki and fishing out her phone. She opened the messaging app and got to work.

 **[Marinette] Hey Adrien, just wanted to thank you for being so sweet to me today. I'm glad we're friends. See you after the weekend on Monday, but drop me a line if you need anything before then.**

She tapped the send button. _If I squint, I might be able to see his phone light up with the new message alert… OK, who am I kidding? I'm probably stalking the poor boy right now. And besides - with the way things went with Cat Noir earlier, I really don't want to lead Adrien on. Not that I ever imagined myself saying THAT before! Then again… if Adrien Agreste is option B, I'm really not in any position to complain…_

"Marinette, you should get back to your house and get some rest."

"You're right, Tikki. Are you ready to go?"

The kwami smiled and swallowed her last mouthful of cookie.

"Alright, then… SPOTS ON!"

Ladybug looked back over her shoulder at Adrien's window before swinging off into the night.

* * *

Adrien slept on, oblivious to the vibrating of his phone or the purring of his kwami.

* * *

Alya and Nino cuddled blissfully next to each other on Alya's couch, the menu screen for the DVD they were watching playing on an endless loop. Nino's arm was around his girlfriend's waist, and he was pulling her protectively toward him.

* * *

Chloé lay sprawled in her bed, snoring like a rusty chainsaw. Pollen had found some cotton to stuff in her ears to drown out the girl's slumber and afford her some rest. _What was I doing since the last time I saw her? Sleeping. And it is a good thing, too, since I do not think I am getting any tonight!_

* * *

Lila stared at the ceiling of the guest bedroom. _Just a few more hours, and I'll finally get my chance to destroy Ladybug once and for all! Then, once I find out who she is, I'll ruin her private life as well. All she's ever done since I've gotten to town is come after me and try to prove that she's better than me. Well, she's *not*! When all of this is over, I'll be the last one standing! I'll have beaten the superhero - humiliated her, even! - and then I'll be able to move on to Marinette. She thinks she's so special… but she doesn't even know Adrien's secrets! And I'll be able to use those secrets to make him be mine. Showing him off in front of Marinette should be enough to make her shut up for good._ She closed her eyes and smiled. _Yes, this is going exactly how I imagined it… thanks to Hawk Moth. He thinks he's in charge, but I've been using him to get what I want, just like always. I can't feel bad for him, though… in life, someone has to win and someone has to lose. It's not my fault I'm good at winning..._

* * *

Gabriel Agreste looked at the picture of his wife that he kept on the nightstand. _Everything I've done for the past two years… has been for you. Goodnight, my love. Tomorrow, we will be reunited._ He turned off the light and rolled over.

* * *

Nathalie Sancoeur pulled her last hairpin out, and watched in the mirror as her locks cascaded around her shoulders. _I've been working for Gabriel for, what… ten years now, at least? Ever since I was a new graduate from school, and he hired me as a part-time personal assistant. A lot has changed since then… I'm still a personal assistant, but I never dreamed of where this job would have taken me! I've been front-row for some amazing events, traveled the world… all in service of Gabriel and Emilie. Who would have thought that those souvenirs I brought back from that street market in Chongping would have led to this?_

 _Two rare brooches, part of an incomplete set, but the craftsmanship was exquisite. Gabriel gave the Peacock brooch to his wife, and kept the Butterfly brooch for himself. Then, when Gabriel tried to find out the origin of the special jewelry in Tibet about two years ago, everything changed. Emilie got sick, and nobody could figure out how or why. Gabriel had a book that he studied constantly to try and discover the solution. I never believed becoming a supervillain was the first choice, but he truly had no other way to get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous._

 _He is so devoted to Emilie. It pains me to see him fail time and time again. But, no matter how many times he fails, I'll always be there to pick him up. I owe him that much. And if I can help them be together again, then I've done my job. And if they won't be together again, then hopefully he will let me continue to be as faithful to him as he was to her._

She turned off the light, walked to her bed and climbed in, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

"Tikki?"

"Go to sleep, Marinette."

"I know. But…"

The kwami sighed. _This better not take all night. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a loooooong day._ "Yes?"

"Tikki… if it comes down to it tomorrow… what if we can't save Cat Noir? What if I'm wrong about him?"

"Don't be afraid, Marinette. You'll know what to do. Remember: _Love that boy._ That's all I can tell you. You've been doing a great job of it so far. He'll need that more than ever once this is over."

Marinette hummed. "I _do_ love him, Tikki. I'd do anything for him, you know. As Ladybug _and_ as Marinette."

After a pause, Marinette spoke again. "Tikki…? If… I asked you to do something for me, would you do it?"

"Do I need to take down the pictures of Adrien again?"

"No… not that. But I might need something soon, and you're the only one who can give it to me."

"Name it, Marinette. I'll do my best!"

"I don't need it now. You'll know when I need it."

* * *

The night passed. Eight people slept knowing that soon, their lives would change. Some for the worse, some for the better, but all significantly.

* * *

Adrien was awakened by Lila standing over him. "Your father says to get dressed and transform. We're to meet at the school in half an hour."

He blinked and shooed her away. Walking over to his desk, he roused Plagg. "It goes down in half an hour. Eat up as much as you can, buddy." He sliced off some more cheese for the sleepy kwami. _Oh, shoot, forgot to plug my phone in._ Picking it up, the screen automatically turned on and displayed a new message notification. Adrien swiped the notification and read Marinette's message from the night before. _She is so good to me. Oh no… her house is right across the street from the school! I don't want anything to happen to her, but how do I warn her without blowing everything?_

His thumbs danced across the keys as he started, then re-started a message.

* * *

Marinette's phone buzzed Tikki awake. _I didn't think she had an alarm set this early, let me try to turn it off… oh! She's going to want to see this!_ "Marinette? You just got a response from the text you sent last night."

The girl sat bolt upright in bed and grabbed her phone. She read:

 **[Adrien] Thank you for caring. :-) Listen - I heard some people talking about something crazy going down at the school in a few minutes. The sort of thing that Alya would want to cover, if you get my drift. Please tell her not to come. Going to be very dangerous. You stay safe too. GTG**

"Oh shoot… Hawk Moth's going to be at the school. How would he know that? He must have gotten the information from Lila since they've been going to that private tutor together! Tikki… I have to let Alya know, and Chloé… but how do I do that without completely blowing my secret identity?" She sat for a few seconds, fiddling absently with a stuffed animal. "Got it!" A few taps on the screen later, and her message was sent. "Now, we have to get Chloé in person. There's only one way to do that, Tikki… spots on!"

* * *

Alya stirred as her phone alarm went off. _Who on earth is texting me so early? Don't tell me there's an akuma already!_ She gasped and shook Nino awake, then thrust the phone in front of him after he put his glasses on.

 **[Marinette] Would you believe that Ladybug just dropped by to visit me? Wanted to check on me after the whole vine incident. She mentioned something was happening at the school now and asked me to let you know. Looks like you have a scoop for the Ladyblog!**

"Nino… we have to go."

Her boyfriend nodded. "I'm ready."

The young superhero couple embraced, called for their respective transformations, and climbed out Alya's bedroom window, headed to the school.

* * *

Four superheroes stood on the roof of College Francoise Dupont, waiting.

"What's our game plan, Ladybug?" asked Rena Rouge.

"That's a good question. I don't know, since I don't know who Hawk Moth is bringing. He'll have Cat Noir with him, and most likely Volpina, but besides that, I can't tell you. We'll have to keep Cat Noir from using Cataclysm. Volpina's illusions don't hurt and disappear when touched, so we just have to not let her get into our heads. Hawk Moth is good at hand-to-hand combat, so we have to avoid him and take his brooch.

"Carapace, you'll need to be ready to use your Shell-ter. Rena Rouge, we may need a big Mirage from you at some point. And Queen Bee, try to get close to Hawk Moth and use your Venom. You'll probably have to wait until everyone else is down, though, before you try it. Their goal will be to protect Hawk Moth.

"One final thing: Cat Noir can do multiple Cataclysms now. The strategy of having him waste Cataclysm on something useless won't work. He'll probably go after your Miraculous to destroy them and leave you helpless.

"Are you ready?" She squinted into the distance. "Because here they come."

* * *

Hawk Moth, Cat Noir, and Volpina landed on the roof opposite the superheroes. "Well, well… looks like word got out of our little party." He looked at Cat Noir. "No matter! You actually saved us work by summoning the heroes to their destruction. Remember your duties. Get Ladybug's Miraculous. Everybody else is a distraction and should be treated accordingly." The trio leaped down into the courtyard. "What are you waiting for, heroes? You think you can come end Hawk Moth's reign of terror? I dare you to try."

"TRAITOR!" Queen Bee yelled at Cat Noir. "You picked the wrong side! And you're going to pay for it!" She spun her top at a rafter and swung down into the courtyard. Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace all followed.

"It's _you_ who chose the wrong side, Chloé!" called Volpina. She stepped in front of the superhero. "You could have had anything you wanted out of that classroom, and you're too dumb to take advantage of it! Now look where that's gotten you!"

Queen Bee tackled Volpina and started to wrestle with her. "It's- gotten- me- _FRIENDS!_ Which is more than you've ever gotten. I actually have people care about me. They threw a _party_ for me! I don't want _followers_ like you have!" The girls rolled around on the ground, scuffling for position.

Rena Rouge advanced on Cat Noir. "I told Ladybug I was going to kick your furry little butt the next time I saw you, and I'm not missing this opportunity! What are you thinking? I thought we were _friends_!"

Cat Noir extended his staff. "I don't want to fight you, Rena Rouge!"

"Well, you're going to get a fight, whether you want it or not!"

* * *

Hawk Moth watched the teenagers spar. _Excellent… his former partners' eagerness to fight him is only serving to draw him closer to me and to my cause! Soon, he will feel completely abandoned by those who he thought loved him, and he will be fully on my side!_

Ladybug and Carapace advanced on Hawk Moth. "It's two against one, Hawk Moth. Give us your Miraculous now and we'll spare you the trouble!"

"I easily handled you and Cat Noir on the Eiffel Tower… do you think I can't handle you two again? I have everything to gain by defeating you! You… you have nothing. You'll just go back to being a normal girl, with a normal life. But _*I*_...? I will gain _the world!_ " He clenched his fists and braced himself. "Now… who's first? Or do I get to humiliate both of you at once?"

"The only person who's leaving here humiliated is you and your henchmen, Hawk Moth!" Ladybug twirled her yo-yo, ready for Hawk Moth to strike.

* * *

Neither Queen Bee nor Volpina was able to get an advantage. The teens were locked together in a clutch. Volpina smiled. "We're pretty evenly matched, Chloé. It's a shame I'm not fighting at full strength!" She wrapped her legs around Queen Bee's waist and flipped the girl onto her back, then held her right hand up high, where a dart appeared! "Why do you assume that Hawk Moth didn't give me different powers this time? This dart will knock you right out, and I'll be able to take the comb out of your hair, and you'll be able to do nothing about it!"

"You're… bluffing! It's… an… illusion, Lila. FAKE, just like you!" Queen Bee reached up and went to knock the dart out of her hand. _No harm if it's fake… it will just disintegrate when I touch it._ She waved her hand toward Volpina's wrist, but couldn't quite reach. _Just… a bit… closer…_

Volpina threw the dart toward Queen Bee's head, but the heroine twisted out of the way at the last second! Volpina growled and lunged at Queen Bee again while she was getting up. "Go on and stop me with your special power, if you can! Just remember… you'll be helpless if you try. I can do this _all day long_!"

The girls grappled their way up the stairs.

* * *

"Rena Rouge… you can't beat my fencing skills, you know," Cat Noir breathed.

"I don't care!" She lunged at him again, using her flute as a weapon. "I'm going to find a way to kick your butt!"

Cat Noir effortlessly parried her strikes but did not counter. "I don't want to hurt you! Don't make me do something I'll regret."

"You're already doing something you'll regret! Don't make me _not_ do something I _won't_ regret!" She swung her flute at him like a baseball bat. "Why are you doing this, anyway? I thought you were one of the good guys!"

"I… I am. This isn't about you! It's not about Carapace or Queen Bee,either. I just need Ladybug's Miraculous. Hawk Moth told me how to use it… and I'll get something that I've wanted for a long time!" He dodged another swing of the flute. "That's all I need… just one wish, and I'll be free of all of this, and everything will be back to how it was!"

"You idiot! Nothing will be the same if you take Ladybug's Miraculous! Do you really think Hawk Moth will let you rest? Do you think you'll still be able to be Cat Noir? Do you-" she swung again "-actually think that any of us will trust you like we did before?"

Cat Noir spun his baton and said nothing. _Adrien has friends, and he'll finally have family again after this, I hope. Cat Noir won't be around to take the heat._ His mind went back to the previous night, and his cheek and lips tingled with the memory. _I just wish there was a way to keep Marinette in the picture, somehow._

The blond shook his head to clear his mind as Rena Rouge advanced on him.

* * *

Ladybug and Carapace had their hands full with Hawk Moth. _He's fast… faster than us! But we have the numbers advantage. I just wish it was Kitty fighting alongside me, if only because we know each other so well. Fighting with Nino is great, but I'm carrying a heavy load here. We're not equally matched._ "Oof!" she exclaimed as Hawk Moth landed another blow on her back. _Gotta get my head in the game here._

"You heroes think you're outnumbered now… you haven't seen anything yet! Mayura, come help finish them!"

Five heads turned to watch the new arrival: a woman in blue and a long peacock-feather dress, carrying a hand fan. "Mayura is here, Hawk Moth. Let's end this together." She waved her hand fan, and it transformed into a steel blade. Tracing the air with it, Mayura announced, "We will remove the Miraculous from you, Ladybug, by any means necessary. Spare yourself and give them up now."

Rena Rouge used the distraction to kick Cat Noir squarely in the chest, driving him backwards. "Ladybug! What do we do?"

"You will surrender!" Volpina spat as she hit Queen Bee in the face with her flute, knocking her over the railing and down to the courtyard floor.

"Oh, HECK NO! We are not going to surrender! I've had just about enough of you, pretender! You are officially _done_ making my friends' lives a living hell, _as of now!_ " Rena Rouge jumped directly to the second floor walkway, taking Volpina by surprise. She tackled the villain and began pummeling her, eventually pinning her to the ground. "Where's the butterfly? WHERE IS IT?!"

Hawk Moth and Ladybug stood there with their jaws dropped.

Cat Noir recovered first and charged after Rena Rouge.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Carapace threw his shell-shield and knocked Cat Noir back. "I've got a bone to pick with you too, Cat Noir! I'm just sorry I wasn't first in line!" The shield returned to his hand and he charged the black cat. Cat Noir swung his baton, hitting Carapace's shield and resulting in a resounding _BOOOOOONGGGGGGGG_ echoing through the school. The clank of metal on shield moved to a corner of the courtyard as Carapace and Cat Noir continued their combat.

Mayura moved in on Ladybug, who began spinning her yo-yo. "You're normally invincible in that suit, little bug… against normal damage! Care to test your magic against mine?" Her fan danced menacingly in front of her.

 _That looks like it's super-sharp… and if it's anything like any of our other weapons, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. I need to be careful._

"You are wise to hesitate, Ladybug. This fan," she swung the fan at a pillar, slicing it in two and causing part of the second floor to collapse! "It can cut through _anything_. And I don't have to even be holding it!" She threw the weapon at Ladybug. It spun quickly toward the hero, who ducked out of the way.

 _That just missed me. Where did it go… RIGHT BACK AT ME?_ She tucked and rolled, the fan nicking one of the ribbons in her hair. She picked up the piece of ribbon from the floor and examined it. _This is bad. I don't want to stick around to see if this can cut through the rest of my suit!_

Queen Bee stood up. "Looks like it's you and me, Hawk Moth."

A purple energy signature illuminated the face of the supervillain. "Looks can be deceiving, Miss Bourgeois." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the courtyard was surrounded by thirty Hawk Moths! "I would say it's more like us against you, no?" The Hawk Moths advanced on Queen Bee. "Surrender now," one of them invited. "We'll all destroy you. And then we'll destroy you all," another taunted.

 _Be strong. I promised Ladybug I'll be strong._ Queen Bee removed her spinning top from her waist and slung it at one of the Hawk Moths, which vanished on contact! _An illusion!_ She wound up and swung her top in a wide arc, eliminating the Hawk Moths in a large swath until only one remained. "Now, as I was saying… looks like it's just you and me. _Venom!_ "

* * *

Rena Rouge jumped back when the energy signature appeared over Volpina's face. The akuma slowly got up and sneered, "It will take a lot more than _that_ to keep me down!" She struck out with punches and kicks, circling Rena Rouge and forcing her to keep distance.

Maintaining her guard, Rena Rouge watched as the energy signature stayed illuminated over Volpina's face. _Volpina must be communicating with Hawk Moth… but she's having a hard time listening, casting illusions, and fighting me at the same time!_ The teen superhero dodged a kick, and looked over Volpina's shoulder to see the art teacher peeking out from his classroom.

"Ladybug! Rena Rouge! Someone! HELP!" he cried. "I fell asleep in here last night waiting for the kiln! Please, I don't want to get hurt!"

 _Is that an illusion? No, I can't risk it!_ "Stay there, sir!" Rena Rouge called. "We'll get you to safety!" She jumped over Volpina, who grabbed at her costume tail. "Oof!" She kicked at her foe, but it was ineffective, as she wasn't able to knock Volpina's hands free. Looking over her shoulder at the art teacher, she was horrified to see him trying to sneak out of the room toward the stairway. "No! Stay there!" she yelled.

Mayura's fan came whistling through the air and sliced through another pillar, sending the art teacher tumbling twenty feet to the courtyard below!

"Slide, Queen Bee!" Rena Rouge yelled, and the yellow-and-black heroine sprinted toward the falling man… only to have him disappear into thin air when Queen Bee caught him. Rena Rouge whirled to face Volpina, who only smiled through the energy signature.

* * *

"Cat Noir! I thought we were bros, dude! I thought we were all bros! This is how you choose to repay us?"

"Stay out of this, Carapace! You don't have the full story here!"

"I know what I see, dude! Hawk Moth has been sending super-baddies around Paris for a long time now. And you've been fighting them with Ladybug! Now, you're on Hawk Moth's side? What gives?"

"You won't understand!"

"How about you give me a try, dude? You know? That's what friends do! They talk to each other!"

"How on earth am I supposed to get in touch with you when we only see each other at fights? Cat Noir doesn't have any superhero friends to go to! Not even Ladybug sticks around after fights. So yeah, Hawk Moth came to me! He offered me something I've always wanted… a family! And he's the only one who can give it to me!"

"What, is Hawk Moth going to _adopt_ you or something? What the heck are you talking about?"

"I'm telling you, you wouldn't understand! You don't know me! None of us really know each other! We just show up, chase butterflies, and leave!"

"I'm pretty sure we all know Chloé! You could have at least gone to her!"

"You're saying you know Chloé and you still think I should go to her? You must be blinder than I thought."

* * *

Hawk Moth knocked aside a series of attempts by Queen Bee to tag him with her Venom. "What's with the change of heart, Miss Bourgeois? I thought you were the kind of person who only fixed problems they cause… or should I say, the kind of person who has others fix problems they cause! You don't have a dog in this fight!"

The yellow-and-black superhero lunged again with her top. "The last couple of times I was Queen Bee, I was fixing problems _you_ caused! Now look who's talking! Ugh, stand still! This is ridiculous… utterly ridiOOOOFFFF" Hawk Moth used Queen Bee's momentum to throw her into a classroom!

* * *

Rena Rouge and Ladybug ran into the classroom after Queen Bee, closing and barricading the door behind them. Queen Bee's Miraculous chirped and she transformed back to Chloé in a flash of yellow light.

While Chloé gave Pollen some food to recharge, the superheroines caught their breath. "If Hawk Moth is controlling Volpina and causing her to cast illusions, then there's no way he can put all of his attention on us. We're going to have to team up and get him," Ladybug reasoned.

"I swear I almost had Volpina pounded into paste before Hawk Moth took over, too!" growled Rena Rouge. "I want another shot at her when all of this is done. I don't care if she's got the butterfly or not!"

" _Focus_ , Rena Rouge. She might deserve it, but right now we have to treat her as a victim, too. If Hawk Moth was able to persuade Cat Noir, then there's no telling what he used to get Lila on his side too! For all we know, she's under the same pressure that Cat Noir is."

"Speaking of Cat Noir, Carapace is holding his own against him, but I don't know how long that's going to be since we're not occupying the other three. Chloé, are you ready to go yet?"

"Just ready now, Rena Rouge. _Buzz on!_ "

"We still haven't figured out how to deal with Mayura. She may not transform back if we defeat Hawk Moth, and she's already more than a handful now. Queen Bee, can you try your luck?"

"I'll do my best, Ladybug!"

Ladybug gestured to the door. "Are you with me, girls? This is going to be our only shot; we have to take it! Let's go!"

All at once, Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Ladybug burst forth from their hiding place to attack. Ladybug stunned him with her yo-yo. "Take his Miraculous, Rena Rouge! The brooch!" she commanded.

The supervillain grinned. "You think this is all it takes to defeat me?" A dark blue feather floated out of the air and alighted on Hawk Moth's brooch. His smile widened.

Behind the heroes, a giant, purplish-blue butterfly hovered over the school, blocking any entrance or exit from the courtyard roof. _This one isn't an illusion_ , realized Ladybug. _I remember one of these showing up at the Eiffel Tower. We may be in for more than we bargained for!_

Taking advantage of the distraction, Hawkmoth jumped to the stairs. Energy signature glowing brighter than before, he raised his arms and a thunderous roar filled the school. "Cower before us, heroes! You are not going to leave here with your Miraculous… if you even leave here at all!"

* * *

Queen Bee slung her top at the giant butterfly. In response, the butterfly flapped its wings, creating a wind so strong it knocked everyone off of their feet! Pinned against the wall, Queen Bee shouted, "That didn't work! We'll have to try something else!"

"Thankfully nobody else will be able to do anything until the wind stops!" Ladybug yelled. "Once it stops, get Hawk Moth! We've got to end this quickly!"

The butterfly's wings stopped beating. Carapace whipped his shield at Hawk Moth, who dodged easily. In response, the butterfly lowered itself and emitted a powerful sonic blast targeted at the young hero that sent him flying through a classroom window!

"I have granted Hawk Moth a protector, children. To attack him is to attack the protector. Do you not see that you are outmatched, this time? It is time to give him what he wants." Mayura moved to stand next to Hawk Moth.

The energy signature continued to glow brightly. Small, white butterflies filled the courtyard.

 _There are dozens… no, hundreds of them! We won't be able to see a thing with these things flying around._ "There are too many of them for Queen Bee and me to disperse with our weapons! Get to Volpina! If we can get her to stop generating these illusions, then we'll be less at a disadvantage!"

"On it, Ladybug!" Rena Rouge looked around. _The energy signature is bright enough that I should be able to spot it, even through this mess… there!_ She sprinted toward the akuma, illusions in her path dissolving as she passed through them. She arrived at Volpina and raised her flute, ready to strike…

...and Volpina didn't even flinch. She stood there, energy signature over her face, unmoving, unblinking.

Rena Rouge paused. _Well, this is unexpected._ Cautiously, she waved her hand in front of Volpina's face. "Ladybug, we have a problem here! There's something wrong with Volpina! She's not fighting back!"

"Try to get the akuma! It was in her necklace last time!"

"She's not wearing a necklace!" _Let's see, where else could it be? One of her hair bands, maybe?_ Rena Rouge patted the unresponsive akuma, looking for something out of place. "What should I be looking for… AAH!" She leaped back as the energy signature surged brightly. Volpina staggered and collapsed. "The psychic connection with Hawk Moth must have overwhelmed her! I think he's controlled her too much!"

"Hawk Moth, look at what you've done! You broke your akuma! How many people are you going to hurt in order to get your wish?"

Hawk Moth stared at the superheroes. Volpina was sitting against a wall, glassy-eyed, with the energy signature still over her face. _Time to go to Plan B, and force Adrien's cooperation._ "Cat Noir!" he called. "We know where you've been spending your time these past couple of nights. Do you think we were too dumb to not supervise you? I don't think your heart is in the battle today, so I made sure to have insurance for you." He snapped his fingers, and an explosion rocked the school, scattering the butterflies and causing them to disappear.

"What was that, Hawk Moth? That didn't come from inside the school-!"

"Of course not, you naive boy! It came from your favorite bakery across the street."

Cat Noir's mouth dropped open. Six heads turned to the corner of the school, where they could see smoke rising. Sirens sounded in the distance.

"No! NOOOOOOO! MARINETTE!" Cat Noir lunged toward Hawk Moth, claws bared. "CATACLYSM!"

But Cataclysm didn't come.

Cat Noir stared at his hand in disbelief. His eyes narrowed and he looked at his father. "DAMN YOU, HAWK MOTH! I lost _everything_ because of you! I've lost my friends! I've lost my kwami! I've lost my freedom! But that wasn't enough for you! On top of all that, you took away the girl I love! My one chance at redemption after all of this was over! And for what? Because you told me I could see Mother again! And you know what? I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! I tried to give you everything I had! For you! For the family! And now, I HAVE NOTHING!" He stood there, trembling.

Hawk Moth raised his arms. Behind him, Volpina reverted to Lila and collapsed on the ground. Unnoticed, a purple butterfly flew away from her and landed on Cat Noir's ring. An energy signature illuminated his face.

* * *

"How many people am I going to hurt to get my wish, Ladybug? Hopefully, you will give me your Miraculous before too many more get hurt."

"Cat… Cat Noir…! You've akumatized him!"

"I'm using his anger… his _rage_ … for my purposes. Do you know how he feels about you, Ladybug? Truly? You had something he needed, something that would make him truly happy. And rather than give it to him, you held it from him. You held _everything_ from him, didn't you? Knowledge of the Guardian. The secrets of the Miraculous that your kwami told you. Your _friendship_. There is much you could have shared with him, to make him your equal. Instead, you treated him like everyone else did - like a sidekick. Well, he is now going to be your downfall, Ladybug. Your greatest partner is now going to be your greatest enemy."

Purple bubbles enveloped Cat Noir, leaving him dressed in a ghostly white costume.

"Ladybug… meet Chat Blanc. Chat Blanc, meet the person who has held you hostage for so long. Be free. Destroy her." The energy signature faded.

* * *

Ladybug took a step back. _My Kitty… what has he done to my Kitty?_ Behind her, the sobs of Carapace and Rena Rouge barely registered in her mind. _This isn't going to go well. We had our hands full with the last Miraculous user or four that were boosted by an akuma's power; there's no telling what Chat Blanc can do on top of Cat Noir's powers._ She looked at the snarling akuma, violet glowering eyes peeking out from under a shock of blond hair. _He's so twisted by hate and fear right now… a perfect target for an akuma. We probably should have seen this coming. Alright, Tikki, I'm going to need a LOT of help here._

* * *

Chat Blanc growled, eyes flickering among the superheroes. "Who's first? I think I'll go for an appetizer before the main course." He took a step forward. Black energy bubbled in his right hand. "You! You'll do good for starters, I think." He lunged and knocked the hero over in the blink of an eye, grabbing the Miraculous and breaking it with the touch of his hand!

It was Queen Bee who fell, but Chloé Bourgeois who landed. Pollen looked stunned before vanishing in a flash of light as the Miraculous was destroyed.

The akuma straddled her prone form. Black energy formed in his right hand again.

Chloé shielded her face.

"You… are no longer a danger now that you don't have your Miraculous." The energy in his hand dissipated, and he moved on.

* * *

 _Twice as fast, at least!_ Ladybug thought. _Multiple Cataclysms… that's not new, but I bet they all pack the same punch. I guess I'm lucky… he won't want to destroy my Miraculous, and that gives me a fighting chance, at least. Also… the girl I love? I'm the girl he loves? Ohh… this is going to be terrible._ She fought back tears. _My poor, poor Kitty. I'll get you back if it's the last thing I do._

Chat Blanc turned his attention to Mayura. "You! You claim to be on my side! But you're against me, just like everyone else! Telling me what to do, conspiring… you're no better than the rest of them! How long? How long have you been against me?" He raised his hand to strike, energy bubbling.

"NO, CAT NOIR!" A green shield ricocheted off of the akuma's wrist. "I won't let you do this! You want to fight someone, then come after me!"

"The name, _turtle_ , is _Chat Blanc._ Cat Noir is gone. No matter what happens here today, Cat Noir is gone… forever."

"That's not true! It doesn't have to be!" Carapace moved between Chat Blanc and the group of heroes. "We can help you! Let us help you!"

"You want to _use_ me, just like everybody else!" He whirled to face Mayura, who slowly backed up, checking rapidly over each shoulder for an avenue of escape. Finding none, she whipped her fan directly at the akuma's face!

Chat Blanc caught the fan in his right hand. It immediately dissolved under his Cataclysm.

"No!" Mayura gasped.

Chat Blanc laughed and continued to advance toward her. She backed up, "No… no… please, spare me!" She bumped the wall and looked at the akuma, panic in her voice. "Please! No! Not me! AAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!"

Before Chat Blanc had reached Mayura, her transformation dropped and a small blue kwami floated away. Nathalie Sancoeur fell to the ground, clutching her chest. The protector she had conjured earlier flickered out. Nathalie coughed and groaned, struggling to sit upright. Blood trickled from her mouth.

* * *

 _That's Gabriel Agreste's assistant! What is she doing here… unless… unless…_

Many things came to Ladybug's mind.

 _"I've never had friends." "Sorry, I'm allergic to feathers."_ The certain way Cat Noir rubbed the back of his neck when he was feeling shy. _"I'd stick around, but then you'd see me without my mask, and you wouldn't be able to resist me." "There's some stuff going on right now… you'll be the first person I talk to." "I understand if you don't want me as a partner anymore."_

 _"He's someone who is used to being disappointed and alone." "You are drawn to each other." "Love that boy… he needs it."_

 _"I wish I could, just for one night, set aside the mask and just spill everything."_

 _"Someday I hope I'll find someone I can share everything with, like they do."_

 _"Her tutor's been working with me a bit, too."_

 _"I'm in too deep, and I can't get out of it now."_

 _"I'm expected to be her partner."_

Ladybug's eyes blew wide as she put all the pieces together.

 _...ADRIEN? But… but that would make Hawk Moth…_

 _"I tried to give you everything I had! For you! For the family!"_

 _...oh, no. No!_

* * *

Chat Blanc advanced toward Lila and Nathalie. " _They're_ still threats," he spat. "Even without superpowers, they destroy people."

"Carapace…!" called Rena Rouge. "We need you to protect them!"

He ran over and got between the women and the akuma. "I won't let you hurt them. They can barely function right now. They both need help. _You_ need help, Cat Noir! I know you're still in there!"

A melody from a flute played in the background. "Cat Noir?" Marinette's voice said.

Chat Blanc turned to the source of the sound. He saw a petite raven-haired girl wearing pink pants, a flowered shirt, and a dark blazer. "Marinette? You're… here? I told you to stay away, that it would be too dangerous. All these people… they hurt me. They hurt _you_. Please. I'm not safe to be around. Go."

"Cat Noir… please… give Ladybug your Miraculous. Let her get that butterfly out of there."

"I don't _want_ to give up my Miraculous! And I don't want to give up this butterfly… I'm finally getting revenge on all the people who made my life miserable… then, maybe, I'll give it up!"

Chat Blanc lurched forward as Carapace hit him in the back of the head with his shield! Rena Rouge hit him across the shins with her flute and he fell to his knees! "Quick, Ladybug! Get his ring! Hit it with your yo-yo or something to free the akuma!"

Ladybug spun her yo-yo. Right before she threw it, she saw black bubbles in Chat Blanc's hand. "I can't! He's got a Cataclysm ready to go! If he catches the yo-yo, not only will I be down a weapon, we won't be able to purify the akuma once it finally gets free!"

"You'll… pay… for trying that!" Chat Blanc swiped wildly at the three superheroes.

Rena Rouge's Miraculous beeped.

"Oh, look at that! You used your special power! Pretty soon you'll be helpless, just like everyone else!" He gestured toward the fallen Lila and Nathalie. "Come to think of it… I've got unfinished business with them!" He began to turn when an energy signature outlined his face.

"Chat Blanc! Your job is to get Ladybug's Miraculous!" The energy signature stayed in place as Chat Blanc turned to face the heroes.

With visible effort, Chat Blanc turned back toward Nathalie and Lila. "You… can't… control… me, Hawk Moth! You've spent these past two years trying to control my every move, and I won't stand for it any more!" He took a slow, pained step at the wall where the women lay.

"Ladybug!" Hawk Moth called, whirling in her direction, a note of panic in his voice. "He's not listening to me! Quick, give him your Miraculous before he hurts someone else!"

"I don't believe you, Hawk Moth! How do I know that this isn't a ploy?"

Chat Blanc moved closer, black energy continuing to bubble in his hand. The energy signature disappeared.

"Ladybug! _Please!_ " Hawk Moth closed his eyes and grabbed his head in both hands.

Ladybug looked from Hawk Moth, who was grimacing, to Chat Blanc, who was sweating from the exertion of resisting the akuma's influence. _If Hawk Moth isn't bluffing, then those two civilians are going to get hurt even worse. I can't take that chance._ "Carapace! Protect them! Chloé, get over there, hurry, before he changes his mind about you! You too, Rena Rouge, your transformation is dropping!"

Chloé, Rena Rouge, and Carapace ran to cover Nathalie and Lila with their own bodies. " _Shell-ter!_ " Carapace summoned his globe shield to protect the four people.

Growling, Chat Blanc pawed ineffectively at the shield. "How long can you keep that up, _hero?_ It's just a matter of time before your time expires, and I'll take you down as well!"

Ladybug ran up behind Chat Blanc and gripped his right wrist. _I hope my enhanced strength is a match for his. These akumas can get pretty strong. But I don't know what else to do. He's blinded by hate and fear! My poor Kitty..._

Chat Blanc spun around. "Oh, do you want a turn? I've got something with your name on it!"

 _Gotta make this quick_. "LUCKY CHARM!" _A video game controller?_

She didn't have time to use it, as Chat Blanc took it right out of her hands. He stared at it for a second before dissolving it with a Cataclysm!

 _Oh, that's not good, not good at all. Tikki, I don't know if you can hear me, but we need some more luck._ "LUCKY CHARM!" A red-with-black-spots motorcycle helmet fell into her hands. "Chat Blanc! Catch!" She threw the object at the charging akuma.

He caught it and stopped.

 _The wheels are turning… come on, Kitty, I know you're in there!_

Chat Blanc Cataclysmed the motorcycle helmet into dust.

 _Third time's the charm, right? The Lucky Charm? Come on…_ "LUCKY CH-!"

The akuma slammed his hand into Ladybug's chest and everything went black.

* * *

 _Someone's screaming. Or maybe that's just the ringing in my ears. Am I dead? I thought things were supposed to go quiet when you die. If this is death, I'm not sure what they mean by resting in peace. I'm not comfortable and this certainly isn't peaceful._

 _Where's that noise coming from? It's Rena Rouge… no, Alya. And Carapace. Oof… this hurts so much. What are they yelling? Where's Kitty? I've gotta see Kitty._ Ladybug opened her eyes. _There he is. I need to get off the ground._

Slowly, Ladybug tried to stand up. "Kitty," she gasped.

Chat Blanc hit her in the chest with another energy-charged strike, launching her backwards.

* * *

"Hawk Moth! _Do something! He's KILLING HER!_ " Alya yelled through her tears.

The supervillain watched his creation move toward the superhero. _Everything I've made my son. A model. A pianist. A fencer. A Chinese speaker. A perfect student. Obedient. Kind. Polite. I don't want to make him a murderer, too. Some prices are too high to pay._

Chat Blanc lifted his energy-charged fist and let out a primal roar.

Hawk Moth raised his arms, calling the akuma back from its host.

Chat Blanc was awash in black magic for an instant, and then Cat Noir collapsed on top of Ladybug.

A white butterfly flew off into the Paris morning.

Hawk Moth fell to his knees, a broken and defeated man. _I'm sorry, Emilie. I couldn't keep my promise to you after all._

* * *

Cat Noir was purring.

 _This feels good. I guess I picked up Plagg's love for being scratched behind his ears along with his purr and his eyes. It feels almost like Marinette scratching me. Marinette - was that an illusion earlier? It must have been. This must all have been another nightmare. I'm going to wake up, and I'll still be in Marinette's chair, and she'll take care of me. I can't wait to see her again._

Cat Noir opened his eyes. _Spots. Red with black spots. Not Marinette, then._ He looked up at Ladybug's face. Bright bluebell eyes met his green ones. "Hey, Kitty," she whispered.

 _She looks exhausted. Has she been crying?_ "Ladybug? …What happened? The last thing I remember was…" he sat up and looked around, horror creeping over his face as he saw the carnage that Chat Blanc had left behind. _Lila… and… and Nathalie! They're hurt!_ "...oh, no. NO! Who… who did that?"

"I did," Hawk Moth said. "Ladybug, you should probably use your Miraculous Cure to fix what you can. Nathalie and Lila need help. The Bee Miraculous has been destroyed. You may be severely injured. And it's all my fault. I'm just glad nobody else got hurt."

Ladybug eyed him suspiciously.

"Here… a token of my goodwill." He removed his Miraculous and set it down on the ground next to Ladybug. In a flash of purple, Gabriel Agreste stood in his place.

Nino gasped. Alya's eyes opened wide, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Dude… I always had issues with you as a parent, but you were a _supervillain_ too? What gives?"

"I… was greedy and foolish. My emotions got the best of me. I… apologize."

"You destroyed Paris repeatedly, injured countless people, and you think you can just _apologize?_ " Alya seethed. "Are you out of your mind? That's the only logical explanation here. You are cuckoo." She turned her attention to the superheroine. "Ladybug… how are you doing? You took two Cataclysms there."

Cat Noir's jaw dropped. "I hit you with _Cataclysm_? More than once?! How are you still here?"

"I don't know," Ladybug frowned. "To be honest, I'm as shocked as you are. I'm pretty weak, though. I feel like I got hit by a truck a couple of times. Help me sit up."

Cat Noir gently lifted her into a sitting position. "My Lady… I'm so sorry."

"I understand, Kitty. More than you know. I have something I need to do, first." She unhooked her yo-yo from her side and tossed it in the air, summoning her Lucky Charm a final time. _I hope this works… I am going to owe Tikki cookies for life after this._ A length of string with eight spotted beads strung on it fell into her hands. She looked at it and smiled.

Cat Noir looked at the bracelet. "That's… that's the lucky charm." His eyes moved to Ladybug, who smiled and nodded.

"It certainly is, Kitty. MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"

* * *

Next time, in the final installment of our story:

* Motivations are explored

* Promises are made

* Adrien chooses his future

You won't want to miss it!


	7. Back in Black

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"

Before she could toss the Lucky Charm in the air, Cat Noir stopped her. "Wait! Let me see that!" Ladybug sheepishly smiled and handed it to him to inspect. _I know what this is. Not only have I seen it before, I'm pretty sure if I detransformed right now, I'd pull it out of my jeans pocket. Why did Ladybug get this as the Lucky Charm? I mean, it's *a* Lucky Charm, but it's Marinette's Lucky Charm… or, rather, the one she gave to me after we practiced Ultimate Mecha Strike III at her house._

 _My head feels fuzzy from the akumatization, but I remember, when I was fighting the akuma's influence, there was more than one Lucky Charm. Let's see… come on, Cat Noir, think! There was… a baseball cap? No… a motorcycle helmet. And there was… a phone. No, not a phone, a laptop. No, that wasn't it either!_

Ladybug looked at him expectantly.

 _It was… a video game controller?! Why would Ladybug get…oh!_ A vision of a girl, concentrating over a video game tournament. A memory of time shared in a movie theater. A kiss stolen before defeating a giant ice cream monster. Countless times where Ladybug saved the day with the combination of her magic and intuition. _"I've got a secret. This is why I win. I'm lucky."_ His eyes opened wide as the final puzzle piece fell into place. He handed the lucky charm back. "This… belongs to you."

"Not anymore. I gave it to a friend," Ladybug whispered.

"He's more than a friend, I hope," Cat Noir whispered back.

"Much more," Ladybug agreed. "We have work to do first, _partner_. Then we'll talk. Deal?"

Cat Noir nodded.

She threw the lucky charm in the air and called for her Cure.

* * *

Ladybug smiled as the magical ladybugs washed over the scene. _I feel better. Not jump-to-the-top-of-the-Eiffel-Tower better, but I think I can function again._ She walked over to Lila and Nathalie. _I hope they're doing better… that was pretty brutal._ Lila was rubbing her head like she just woke up from a long nap. Nathalie was motionless. "Lila?" Ladybug asked.

The girl looked up at Ladybug, an expression of confusion on her face. "Whaa..? Ladybug? Who…?" Her eyes narrowed. "YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

"Lila, what are you talking about?"

"Not _you_ , Ladybug… _him._ " She pointed over Ladybug's shoulder to Gabriel Agreste, who was standing behind her. " _You…_ " she seethed. "You left me! You promised me that we would get Ladybug… and in the end… you gave me nothing. You _used me_. You _abandoned me_. You _left me for dead_ because I wasn't useful to you anymore. You said you wanted my talents? All you wanted was someone who you could control, like this was a video game or something. You never wanted my talents. The only thing you wanted was a willing accomplice. You're scum," she spat.

"Lila, you should go to a hospital. You seem fine, but I don't know if there was any permanent damage done," Ladybug urged.

"I don't care," Lila snapped. "My life is over anyway. You win, Ladybug. Now leave me alone. For the rest of my life."

"At least let me take you home, Lila. Your parents might want to know what happened."

"What, so you can humiliate me one last time? I'll tell my parents what happened. Or don't you trust me to? I mean it, Ladybug... _stay out of my life._ " She turned on her heel and stalked out of the courtyard and through the front doors of the school.

* * *

Alya and Nino were crouched over Nathalie. "This doesn't look good, Ladybug," Alya worried. "She has a pulse and is breathing, but she's not responding to us. The blood from her mouth earlier probably means she has internal injuries of some sort. What should we do? Did the Miraculous Cure fix it? If it did, it didn't fix it all the way."

"I have my suspicions. I've seen something like this before, unfortunately." Gabriel frowned. "I'll take her to the hospital. It's the least I can do." He reached in into his pocket, pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times. "My driver will be here shortly." He reached for his assistant.

"Wait, M. Agreste," Ladybug called. "I'll need her Miraculous before you go." She held out her hand.

"Of course," he said wistfully. Reaching down to his assistant's lapel, Gabriel unpinned the peacock brooch and held it in his hand. _This is where it all started. Where it all went wrong. We began with something beautiful and ended with disaster. I'm sorry, Emilie._ He wiped a tear from his eyes and placed the brooch in Ladybug's outstretched hand. Then he picked up the unconscious woman and gently carried her to the door. Alya ran over and held it open for him. After he passed through, Alya closed the door and ran back to Ladybug.

"That was… wow. I'm not even sure I have words for it. It's over. You did good, Ladybug."

" _You_ did good, Alya. _All_ of you did. I couldn't be more proud of you than I am now. Nino, Chloé… you did great."

Chloé was sitting on a staircase, tracing the restored Bee Miraculous with her finger. "It was fun, Ladybug. I guess I won't need the Queen Bee signal anymore, though."

Ladybug started toward the girl but it was Alya and Nino who got there first, sitting down on either side of her. "You can be a superhero even without the Miraculous, Chloé."

"Yeah, dude, you might need the mask and the costume to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but there's nothing stopping you from doing good deeds in your everyday life!"

"You may want to consider something more than signing autographs like you planned for Heroes Day, though," teased Alya.

Chloé looked at her, mouth agape. _It's gotten me friends… I actually have people care about me. That wasn't just a line in the heat of battle. Friends… not followers._ She grabbed Alya and Nino and pulled them in for a hug. "Thank you, guys. For everything."

Alya was patting her on the back. "No worries, girl. I think you're choking my boyfriend, though."

"Oh, whoops! Sorry!"

Nino coughed and waved his hand in acknowledgement.

"Here you go, Ladybug. If you ever need me again, you know where to find me."

"I certainly do, Queen Bee." She took the comb and gave Chloé a hug.

In turn, Alya and Nino handed their Miraculous to Ladybug. "Take good care of them, Ladybug. Until we meet again." Alya hugged Ladybug, and Nino shook her hand.

"Dude, wait a minute. Before we all split up, there's something I gotta do." He adjusted his cap and walked over to stand directly in front of Cat Noir. "Dude… I don't know what started all of this. I know that Hawk Moth promised you something, and I'm gonna guess that you didn't get it. You know who I am now, and I don't have to know who you are… but if you need family, you can count me in. I'm guessing there aren't a lot of people our age who know what it's like to fight supervillains. We can talk about what you've been through for the past year-plus, or we can chill and play video games or listen to music or whatever. If you need a bro, then that's me. All right?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner, Nino. I'll definitely take you up on the offer."

"Dude, you didn't even know who I was before today, don't beat yourself up over it. I think we took care of the 'beating each other up' part already, anyway." He laughed and punched Cat Noir in the shoulder.

"Thanks, Nino."

"We're _all_ your friends, Cat Noir. To be honest… when we came here, it wasn't to fight Hawk Moth. It was to save you," Alya pointed out, causing Cat Noir's eyes to water. "We might not know who you are, but we know what kind of person you are. And that's all that matters."

"OK, enough with the sappy stuff, already! Let's go back to the hotel and eat some breakfast. I'm _starving._ I'll even have Daddy foot the bill." She turned to go. "Ladybug, Cat Noir… are you coming or what?"

The two superheroes looked at each other, then shook their heads. "We'll take a raincheck, Chloé. Thanks."

"Suit yourself, then. Come on, friends!" She took Alya and Nino by an elbow each and marched them out the door.

Ladybug and Cat Noir chuckled and turned to each other. "We have a lot to talk about, My Lady," he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ladybug put her hands on her hips and blushed. "You first," she giggled.

* * *

Cat Noir took a deep breath. "My Lady… I don't know what to say. First off, I need to apologize. For everything. I put you in danger and almost killed you when I should have trusted you as my partner and worked it all out. Nathalie found my kwami and told Father. They used that against me to try and get me on their side… and it worked, for a bit. Father promised me that he would bring Mother back with the power of our Miraculous combined. My family hasn't been the same since Mother disappeared - I thought that if I pretended to play along then I might be able to get her back and stop Father at the same time. I was selfish. I got in over my head way too quickly… but I never wanted to hurt anyone. I was a bad partner to you at school and a bad partner to you in the mask. I was untrustworthy, unreliable, and… lethal. And somehow through all of that you were a good enough person, an amazing enough person, to see me for who I really was and never give up on me. You had every right to throw me off of your balcony the other night, and you didn't. You welcomed me, let me cry on your shoulder, comforted me… you _loved me."_ He held his arms out at his sides. "All I wanted was a family, and you were right there in front of me all along. I'm not sure if I deserved that, or if I ever will deserve that, but I will try to earn it for as long as you let me." _Oh, man… I hope that wasn't too much all of a sudden for her._ He kissed her hand. "Your turn." _Please don't hurt me._ He gulped and looked into his Lady's eyes.

* * *

"Kitty… you've put me through the wringer on both sides of the mask this past week. You're the kindest, bravest, most selfless person I know. Knowing who you are doesn't change any of that. What you went through at home these past few months, this past week, even… my heart aches." Ladybug wiped a tear from her eye. "You told me that you were afraid that the world was going to win. We're together, and we always will be if you want. You and me against the world… always. You're more than my partner, you're my _other_ _half_. I can't be complete without you in my life, and I was ready to give up my life to save yours. I've wanted you from afar and pushed you away from up close for so long… I hope you can forgive me." She reached out and took both of his hands in hers. "I _do_ love you, and it took me a long time to see that. But once I did… there was no stopping me. I told my kwami that I would do anything for you, on either side of my mask. Now that I know that my Kitty and my crush are the same person, I still would. You don't have to try to earn it; you earned it a long time ago." She blinked and looked deep into his eyes. "Just by being yourself, whether that's Adrien Agreste or Cat Noir… I'm yours."

* * *

They stepped toward each other and embraced. Adrien nudged and nuzzled Marinette until her head was turned toward his. He captured her smiling lips with his own.

* * *

"We need to go see Master Fu," sighed Ladybug into Cat Noir's neck after a few minutes.

"Lead the way, My Lady."

She stepped back and kissed Cat Noir. "For luck," she said with a gleam in her eye. Then she grabbed her yo-yo, slung it out into the Paris sky, and took off.

Cat Noir extended his baton and followed.

* * *

The two superheroes arrived at Master Fu's rue Poirot hideout. "He moved?" Cat Noir asked.

"He had to… he felt the Miraculous were in danger at his old apartment."

"Oh." The heroes climbed to the second floor and knocked. Master Fu quickly admitted them.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, so good to see you. I trust things went well?"

"Yes, Master. We have some things for you." Ladybug held out the five Miraculous she recovered.

Fu's eyes widened. "You did it!" He looked from one teen to the other gratefully. "Please, tell me how. But first, I sense that you both need to detransform. Do that, and we will help your kwamis before anything else." He took the jewelry from Ladybug and put them in their respective places in the Miracle Box.

Ladybug and Cat Noir each spoke their detransformation phrases. After a flash of light, Marinette and Adrien stood there, each holding a very exhausted kwami.

"Master Fu… my kwami has been weak for a few days now. I've been pushing him really hard." Adrien laid Plagg on the massage bed.

"Tikki stretched herself during that last battle. I don't know how she did it, but she saved my life a couple of times… and I'm pretty sure she saved Cat Noir, too." The girl placed her kwami next to Plagg.

Master Fu produced a gong and mallet and knelt in front of the kwamis. He lightly tapped the gong and then set it aside after the ringing stopped. He held his hands over each kwami in turn. _Their auras are very weak. I am going to have to have a long talk with these two. In all the history of the Miraculous, I have never known of kwamis so devoted to their holders as they are to these children here._ He sighed and tapped the gong again, mentally reciting the ancient invocation that was passed down from Guardian to Guardian over the centuries. When the gong finished sounding for the second time, he put it down, stood up, and then faced the teens. "Come, let us make some tea. They will need to rest, and I'm sure you have very interesting stories to tell."

* * *

Master Fu put the kettle on and sat down on a chair. Adrien and Marinette followed his lead. "Marinette," Master Fu began. "Please tell me everything that happened since you came here last night."

"I delivered the Miraculous to Carapace and Queen Bee, and told them to be ready when I needed them. Afterwards, um…" she looked at Adrien out of the corner of her eye, folded her hands in her lap, and mumbled "I went to see if Adrien was awake."

"You _what_?" Adrien spluttered. "How did you manage that?"

"Ladybug landed on the roof across the street from your mansion," Marinette babbled, not meeting Adrien's eyes, "and then Marinette sent you that text. I wanted to make sure you were OK since you were still struggling a bit at school."

 _Wow._ "Marinette… I don't know what to say."

"Oh, Adrien, everyone on the planet knows I've had the biggest crush on you ever since our second day of school, when you gave me your umbrella. I've tried and tried to make it work with you, but never got the courage up. And when I finally did, Lila came along and threatened to ruin everything." Marinette sniffed. "I thought I was going to lose you… but then Tikki told me something very important. She told me -"

"Marinette, I hate to interrupt, but was this something that happened last night?"

"No, Master, sorry."

"We can cover that later. Please continue with what happened after you texted young M. Agreste."

"After I sent the text message, I made my way home as Ladybug. When I got inside, I tried to sleep, but what could happen with Cat Noir weighed too much on my mind. I talked with Tikki for a bit and then went to sleep. She wound up waking me up the next morning when Adrien texted… me… back…! _Wait a minute!_ Adrien… I thought you had just picked up the information from hanging out with Lila! You texted me because you were _part of the plan_ … but you didn't know I was Ladybug, or that Alya was Rena Rouge… right? Why did you do that?"

"You're right, I didn't know." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I... oh, where do I start? Marinette, you were so important to me… _are_ so important to me, and the time we spent together the night before helped me realize that. I had a huge thing for Ladybug, and it turns out I still do," he chuckled. "But Ladybug never returned my advances. I knew that she didn't feel about me the same way I felt about her. And being with you helped me make the decision that I needed to make to move beyond Ladybug and set my romantic sights somewhere else. I sent you that text because I knew that after whatever was going to happen at the school, there most likely wasn't going to be a 'Ladybug and Cat Noir'. Or even a Cat Noir. I was giving up everything I had… and I didn't want to lose you, too. Even if it meant you had to settle for Adrien."

"Oh, Adrien, being with you isn't _settling…_ " Marinette caught the glare of Master Fu out of the corner of her eye. "Sorry, Master. _Anyway_ … after Adrien sent me that text, I let Rena Rouge know, and she let Carapace know since he was with her. I transformed and got Queen Bee, and we all met up at the school. Right after we got there, Hawk Moth, Cat Noir, and Volpina showed up."

"Volpina was there? So Hawk Moth was using a Miraculous holder and an akuma?"

Adrien jumped in. "I think I can help fill in the blanks here. Hawk Moth was using Volpina for the past few weeks to strengthen his psychic bond with his akumas. I guess he counted on her being some sort of ultimate weapon or something. We fought… and then Volpina started to lose. Hawk Moth took control of her and started using her to cast illusions since she couldn't cast illusions and fight at the same time."

"Interesting. I'm surprised he didn't try to multiply his powers like the last time you faced him."

"I don't think he could, Master," Marinette thought. "He already had one willing accomplice who was akumatized in Volpina, but his other teammate called herself Mayura. She had the Peacock Miraculous. I'm guessing she was some sort of catalyst behind the multiple akuma scheme, but Hawk Moth must have thought her more valuable as a Miraculous holder this time around. And she was dangerous! More dangerous than any akuma. Her weapon was so sharp it actually cut one of the ribbons off of my costume. I didn't think that was even possible! And she also summoned a protector… a giant butterfly… which responded whenever we attacked Hawk Moth. It was pretty rough."

"I see." Master Fu stroked his beard. "So, you are up against three Miraculous holders and an akuma who is being controlled by a Miraculous holder directly. Continue."

"I think Hawk Moth tried to control Volpina a little too strongly. Rena Rouge was fighting her, and suddenly she went non-responsive. The lights were on but there wasn't anybody home, you know? Hawk Moth was still able to use her to cast illusions, though, but without an able body to fight, illusions could only go so far, I guess. He switched tactics," Marinette concluded.

"Turns out that Volpina wasn't his ace in the hole. Mayura wasn't, either. All along… his secret weapon was _me_."

"What do you mean, Adrien?"

"Hawk Moth knew that I had visited Marinette the past couple of nights. And he decided to use that information against me in the worst possible way. He cast an illusion of Marinette's house being destroyed. I didn't know she was right there with me, of course. I flipped out; I even tried to Cataclysm Hawk Moth, but I couldn't summon it for some reason. While I was standing there screaming at Hawk Moth, he akumatized me into something primal and vicious: Chat Blanc. I guess his plan was that if he couldn't get the Ladybug Miraculous directly, he'd take it off of her dead body." A pained expression crossed his face as he choked back tears. "He just _used me_ \- with promises of and threats against people I _love_ \- to do his bidding."

"Kitty… it wasn't your fault."

"He _used me_ ," Adrien spat. "And he used me well. I destroyed the Bee Miraculous. I Cataclysmed Mayura's weapon. When Rena Rouge and Carapace tried to stop me, I turned on them. Carapace used his magic force shield to protect everyone except Hawk Moth, Ladybug, and myself. Ladybug tried to stop me again… and I turned on her. She tried to use Lucky Charm against me a couple of times, but I Cataclysmed those too. Then, I Cataclysmed Ladybug. Twice. Hawk Moth must have had a change of heart, because he took back the akuma and purified it himself. Next thing I knew, I woke up and Ladybug was, um… scratching me behind my ears. She summoned a Lucky Charm again and was finally able to Cure everything. Well, most things," he concluded.

"Marinette… am I correct in understanding that not only did you sustain damage to your uniform, you used _three_ Lucky Charms and absorbed _two Cataclysms?_ All without transforming back to charge Tikki?"

"That's correct, Master."

The old man stood up suddenly. "We need to see your kwami, Marinette. Now."

* * *

Tikki and Plagg were laying side-by-side on the massage bed. Their eyes were open, but there wasn't any of the usual banter or playfulness. The kwamis watched as Master Fu stalked into the room, trailed by the two teenagers.

"Tikki. Plagg. You have some explaining to do," the Guardian commanded. "I'm assuming you know the danger in staying transformed, or using your magic more than once without feeding? And I'm assuming that you let your charges do all of this without telling them?"

"Danger? What danger?" Adrien demanded.

"Not now, Adrien. Answer me, please," prompted Fu.

"We both know, Master," responded Plagg. "But I didn't tell Adrien the risks."

Marinette spoke quietly. "Tikki told me. I still did it."

"Wait, told you what?! What _risks?!"_ sputtered Adrien.

Marinette took a deep breath and looked at Master Fu, who nodded. "In order to stay transformed and use your special power more than once, you have to help power the kwami yourself," she explained. "Using your own life force."

"You mean to tell me that doing Cataclysm more than once and staying transformed was _draining me of my life?!_ And Father _allowed that to happen!? And ENCOURAGED IT!"_ Adrien stood up and started pacing. "He was willing to let me _kill myself!_ " the boy raged. Suddenly, he stopped and whirled on his partner, pointing his finger. "You… you _knew_. You used Lucky Charm to try to save me… a couple of times. And then you stayed transformed until we got over here. And… you _still did it._ " His voice dropped to a whisper. "Why?"

"I love you," she said simply. "I meant it when I said I would do anything for you, even if it meant giving a bit of myself to do it. You're worth it." She walked over and hugged the boy tightly, running her fingers through his hair.

"I've made a ton of bad choices," he mumbled.

She gently took his head in her hands. "You're worth it _to me_ , Adrien."

"You two are very fortunate," Master Fu broke in. "The bond you have with your kwamis is the strongest I have ever seen. Marinette, since Tikki is the kwami of creation, she was able to draw upon celestial power to recover from the injury sustained at the hands of Mayura. She kept that celestial link open when you took those two Cataclysms and when you used Lucky Charm. If it were not so, you would have detransformed when your ribbon was sliced off. Cataclysm would have been fatal. Your kwami saved your life, but keeping the celestial link open and maintaining your transformation is more than she has done in a while, I'm guessing. Once all of this is over, she will need to rest for a long time."

"What about Plagg, Master? If he was able to open a cosmic link, I'm sure he would have bragged about it to me a long time ago."

"Adrien…" the black kwami groaned. "I can… but drawing on that power isn't anything good. If I were to do that and you used Cataclysm more than once, galaxies could collapse, black holes could form… it's not a good idea. There must be balance in all things."

"So… that's it, then? How much of my life force did I lose?"

"Very little, kid. You know how sometimes Cataclysm wouldn't come? And how you didn't even use it last battle? Or if you did use it, it was really weak? That was me. Your Chat Blanc Cataclysms? I suppressed the akuma magic and used my own. I regulated your power to keep you from hurting yourself or anyone else. The first few times you used it, it was just a block of wood… something easy to destroy without using so much power. Staying transformed was hard, but I managed it," Plagg whistled.

"Hang on, Plagg… Tikki asked me to look at Cat Noir's ring, and then she got mad at you when I told her how faded it was."

"Oh, that… heh… whatever I couldn't regulate, I just powered with my own energy."

"PLAGG!" Adrien and Master Fu yelled.

"I'm old enough to know how to do that without damaging myself _too_ much… besides, the kid gave me some really expensive cheese. I just need to gnaw on that and sleep for a while, and I'll be all better!"

"That was too dangerous, Plagg!" scolded the Master. "You could have been severely injured."

"Yeah, yeah… look, kid. You're a keeper. I said you were the best Cat Noir I've ever had, and I meant it."

Adrien sat down on the ground, hard. "You two… you were sacrificing yourselves for me. This is a lot to process."

"Plagg is an eternal being, Adrien. Marinette is an energetic teenager. She may sleep longer than usual for a few days, but there will be no lasting damage. You are very lucky to have people who care about you so much in your life. Since the truth has come out, I need to do additional care for your kwamis before I can let you go. Please, take some time in the other room. Enjoy some tea. Rest. You have both had very difficult mornings."

"Wait… Master. Why didn't my Cure fix Mayura? When Chat Blanc Cataclysmed her weapon, she collapsed, detransformed, and… looked really bad. That didn't change after the Cure."

"Marinette, Ladybug's Cure only works on things directly caused by the influence or actions of an akuma. Since Mayura was a Miraculous holder, what happened to her is not reversible by your Cure. Only specialized magic will be able to undo any harm that befell her. Do not worry about that or hold yourselves at fault. It sounds like whatever she did, she did willingly, and I will ask Duusu about that later. Now, go. Tea and rest."

* * *

The teens went back to the kitchen and sat down. "This… wow."

Marinette put her hand on top of Adrien's. "I know, Kitty."

"So… not that we need to worry about this for a couple of days, but what happens at school? We know who each other are, we both know who Alya, Nino, and Chloé are, and we _all_ know who Lila is. This is going to be hard to keep track of. And I can't imagine everyone being able to keep their mouth shut, either."

"One thing at a time. What I'm worried about right now is… how are things going to be for you at home? Do you think you can honestly go and sleep in the same house as Hawk Moth and Mayura? Especially now that you know what they did to you?" Marinette paused. "I don't think you should. I don't even think you should worry about it."

"Well, what else am I going to do? I don't have anywhere else to go… I don't think Master Fu has room here, and I'm not sure if that's even an option," he groaned.

"Stay with me. We have a couch." She spoke almost too quickly for Adrien to understand her. "My parents will be OK with it at least for the weekend, and then we can figure out what and how much to tell them over the next couple of days. In the meantime, your room is being remodeled and you're allergic to dust. Or something." She blushed. "I just can't stand the thought of you being alone this weekend." Her voice dropped. "I can't stand the thought of being without you, either." She looked up and started to laugh. "I can't _BELIEVE_ I just said that… after so long watching you from af-"

It was incredibly difficult for Marinette to talk with Adrien's lips on hers. She melted into his embrace.

* * *

Master Fu walked into the kitchen and thought about clearing his throat, but decided against it. _I'll just let them be._ He sneaked back to the main room of the apartment, picked up a book, and sat down, smiling.

* * *

The rest of the weekend passed like a whirlwind for Marinette. As she predicted, her parents welcomed Adrien into their house with open arms. When Tom wasn't working, he was challenging Adrien to a game of Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Marinette napped in between games and helping out in the bakery. In front of the TV, in the middle of sketching a design, or even during dessert on Saturday night, she slept. Her favorite place to be, however, was in the arms of her boyfriend, cuddled together on the couch, the beating of his heart lulling her to sleep.

When her parents weren't looking, Adrien made sure to kiss her every chance he got. _The smell of her hair… her smile… her laugh… her love. This is what I want, forever._

"I feel like we're going to be seeing a lot more of this boy, Sabine," Tom whispered, watching the pair snore softly on the couch.

Sabine covered them up with a blanket and kissed each of them on the forehead. "I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." She winked and beckoned him to follow.

* * *

Monday morning arrived earlier than anyone wanted, as Monday mornings are prone to do. Adrien got dressed in the clothes his bodyguard had brought him Saturday afternoon and joined Marinette, Tom, and Sabine for breakfast at their table.

"Thank you for having me this weekend, Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng. I couldn't have asked for better."

"I'm going to tell you one last time, son, it's 'Tom' and 'Sabine'. And that's whenever you are under our roof, is that clear?" Tom playfully jabbed a finger in Adrien's direction.

"Yes, sir… um, Tom. Mmm, these croissants are _delicious!_ "

Sabine and Tom shared a look. "You know, Adrien…"

 _I've never had a conversation that started with those words go well._ Adrien reached under the table and squeezed Marinette's hand.

"...We know that your room wasn't being remodeled over the weekend." Sabine held up a hand, stopping Marinette's protests. "You talk in your sleep, Adrien. Now… we don't know what happened, and we don't need to know right now. But… we do need you to be honest with us. _Are you safe?"_

Before Adrien could utter a word, Marinette spoke up. "No, Maman, he's not. Well…" she looked at Adrien and smiled. "He _wasn't_. But he is now. Here. Now. He's here now. Ohhhh…"

"We get it, Marinette. Son, from both of us, we want to tell you that, if you want, you're welcome to stay here. We have a spare room we can convert into a bedroom for you."

The teenagers gasped. Adrien had to compose himself quickly to keep himself from crying on the spot. Marinette wasn't so lucky.

"It won't be much, Adrien. And we'll expect you to follow our rules here - including helping out in the bakery and keeping your grades up. But other than that, you'll be free to do as you please."

"I'll be… here? With you?"

"You'll be part of our family," Sabine confirmed. "Although, we can't adopt you, since I think that might spoil your plans for our daughter."

 _"Mom!"_

"I've heard you talk about him for over a year, and I see how he looks at you, Marinette. There's no point in arguing facts." She laughed, and Adrien saw a lot of Marinette in that laugh. "What do you say, Adrien? You can think about it and tell us whenever you've made a decision. No pressure. And our couch is always open for you, regardless."

Adrien looked into Marinette's eyes. _This is everything I've ever wanted. And you're everything I've ever wanted._

Marinette matched his gaze. _This is a dream come true. I couldn't ask for anything more._

"Yes. Yes, one thousand times yes." He pressed his napkin to the corner of his eye. "Part of a family…"

"It's settled, then!" Tom exclaimed, standing up. A doorbell rang downstairs. "Ah, right. That'll be your bodyguard bringing over the rest of your stuff. What, you thought we were going to send you back to that cold, empty house? We know it's just you over there, Adrien." Tom pulled Adrien into a bear hug and then went downstairs.

"I'll let you two finish breakfast and get ready for school. Maybe you can help Marinette not be late all the time."

 _"Mom!"_

* * *

They left the bakery hand-in-hand and walked to school. Alya, Nino, and Chloé were standing outside, talking. Nino grabbed Alya and turned her to face their friends. Alya's mouth stopped moving mid-word, her jaw dropped, and her finger slowly came up to point at them. "Buh… buh… babe? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

Adrien and Marinette smiled. "What was it… Thursday night?" Marinette asked. "I invited him over to talk about our project, and we just… he opened up to me and showed me a side of him I never thought I'd see. I was a goner! We made it official Saturday afternoon." She looked into Adrien's eyes and smiled.

"Um, Marinette, you were already a goner. Like, months ago, girl. We all knew that! Well… maybe not _all_ of us." Alya looked pointedly at Adrien, who chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Adri-kins, you don't mean to tell me that you're actually _dating_ Dupain-Cheng, are you?"

"Chloé…" Nino warned.

"Um, well, we actually haven't been on a _date_ date, now that you mention it… but we did spend the whole weekend together. Does that count?"

"You mean to tell me that you call this girl your _girlfriend_ and you haven't had a date yet? Adri-kins, you should be ashamed of yourself! Take her to Daddy's restaurant in the hotel tonight! I insist!" She turned and marched up the stairs as the first bell rang.

" _Saturday AFTERNOON? You waited THIS LONG to tell me? Girl, you are so going to spill it later…"_ Alya whispered.

"I know," grinned Marinette. "Let's do it tonight, though. I'll bring the pastries."

"Deal!" The girls, Nino, and Adrien followed Chloé up the stairs.

Miss Bustier was standing in front of the classroom holding a sheet of paper. "OK, class, now that everybody is here…"

Three students raised their hands. "Wait, not everybody is here, Miss Bustier! Where's Lila?"

"That's just what I was getting to, Kim. Now that everybody is here, I've been asked to read an email that Lila sent late yesterday.

 _"Dear classmates, I'm very sorry to say that my parents have been permanently transferred overseas, and I won't be returning to class. I enjoyed spending time with and getting to know you. You have a very special class, and everybody there is so close. I know I disrupted that, and to the people I hurt as a result: I hope you find it in your heart to one day forgive me. Best of luck always, Lila."_

Marinette leaned over to Alya. "Odds that she really went overseas?"

"Girl, she had a super-rough day on Saturday; you don't even _know_. I'd be surprised if she didn't somehow work out a transfer to Mars."

 _Surprise, Alya, I *do* know. Maybe I'll fill you in on my weekend sometime, too._

* * *

As soon as the lunch bell rang and the students stood up, Nino turned around to face Marinette and Adrien. "You two want to come to the café for lunch?" He looked at Alya as if to say _See, babe, I can totally do my part of the plan!_

Adrien answered, "Actually, Nino, that sounds like a great idea. Can Marinette and I meet you there in a few minutes? I need to ask her about something first."

"Don't blow us off, Agreste! You two can only spend so much time in a lip-lock before you need to eat! Come on, Nino, let's let these lovebirds have their fun! See you there!" Alya called over her shoulder before leaving the classroom, cackling.

"It's going to be like this for a while now, isn't it?"

Marinette wrapped her arm around Adrien's waist and put her head on his shoulder. "Kitty, I forgot to mention, when you said _you and me against the world,_ you were signing up for Alya to tease and hound you mercilessly. It's too late to back out, though… you're stuck with me."

"Like glue, My Lady. In fact… I was hoping to ask you for a big favor."

"Name it."

"My bodyguard texted me earlier; he said Father is home. I should tell him face-to-face what's going on… and I have a couple of other things I want to say to him. Will you… come be with me when I do that? I'll have us driven there right after school."

"This is a pretty big step. Are you ready for this so soon?"

"To be honest, I think I've been ready for this for a while now. I just needed the courage."

"Then I'm yours, partner." She turned her head and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Now let's go get some lunch before Nino and Alya send out a search party."

* * *

The couple managed to survive lunch without giving away too much, and even managed to make their friends squirm a bit by asking them about their Saturday morning. "We, uh, played video games at Alya's. With Chloé. Yeah," Nino stammered.

The afternoon at school was uneventful. When the final bell rang, Alya stood up and announced, "See you at seven, girl! Be there!" before practically skipping out of the room.

"Guess I don't have a choice, then, huh? Don't worry, I won't spill _too_ many embarrassing things, Adrien. Just girl talk," reassured Marinette.

"Actually, about that… Nino? Since our girlfriends are occupied, can I come over and hang for a bit tonight? If… if that's OK, that is." Adrien reached up to rub the back of his neck.

Nino interrupted him by punching him in the shoulder. " _Dude!_ Of course! You mean your old man's going to let you out? Or are you going to sneak out? Either way, though, _absolutely, bro._ "

"Great! Don't worry, Marinette, it'll just be guy talk. Friend-to-friend stuff. No big secrets." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"OK, I'm fine with that. Alya and I weren't going to cover anything major, either."

Adrien and Marinette looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

"Uh, dudes… am I missing something?"

"Nothing at all, Nino," Marinette said without looking at him. "But we should get going. Adrien's ride is probably here, and I'm going over to his place. Have a good night tonight!"

As she guessed, Adrien's bodyguard was waiting for them when they left the school. The ride to the Agreste mansion was spent in a tense silence, with Marinette rubbing the back of Adrien's hand with her thumbs.

"You got this," Marinette encouraged him as they approached the front door.

Gabriel Agreste was waiting for them in the foyer. "Hello, Adrien, Miss Dupain-Cheng," he greeted them. "I won't insult you by asking you to stay long enough to sit down. So… this is what you want?"

"It is, Father. Marinette's parents have generously offered to take me in. Given our… _situation_ … it's probably for the best." He squeezed Marinette's hand.

Gabriel nodded. "Very well. Seeing as how you are no longer living here, you should be brought up to speed on a few things that will change. First, your bodyguard will take you home, but after that, he will no longer be at your service. Second, you are no longer obligated to continue modeling. However, if that is something you wish to do, then I will make arrangements with the new head of the company for that. Third,"

Adrien cut him off. " _New_ head of the company?"

"Third, I have resigned as President of Gabriel Fashion. I will still design, but the day-to-day decisions will be made by someone else. I will be a mere employee, as I will be focusing on other things."

'You should be in jail," Adrien hissed. "After everything you did? It's a wonder you are getting away with it."

Marinette put her hand on his shoulder. "Easy, Adrien. Don't lose your cool."

Gabriel looked between the two teens. "I don't dispute that. However, this… _endeavor_ … has cost me dearly. I've lost my wife, my son, my business, and my assistant. None of that is rebuilt easily, if at all. I'll be punished for the rest of my life."

"You lost your assistant? What happened with Nathalie? Is she still in the hospital?"

To answer, Adrien's bodyguard pushed a wheelchair into the room. Adrien and Marinette put their hands to their mouths and gasped at the condition Nathalie was in. She was dressed not in her usual dark suit, but in a Gabriel brand sweatshirt and sweatpants. Her hair was draped loosely over her shoulder, tied in a ponytail. Her head was supported by a cushion. She made no movement to acknowledge that her surroundings had changed.

"She's here, Adrien. And doctors say that this is about as good as she's going to get. Injuries of… this nature… can't be healed through conventional medicine. I've given up seeking alternate cures. The best way I can repay her for her devotion and service is to take care of her for as long as she needs it." He walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Nathalie continued to stare blankly ahead, unmoving. "My new full-time job is to keep her comfortable."

"You… you… if you had shown _half_ as much concern about _me_ as you are doing to _her_ now, we wouldn't be in this situation, _Father_ ," Adrien spat. "I miss Mother, but I missed having a family more. There was no need for you to do… what you did. I wouldn't have had to look elsewhere for a family. We could have had everything, and you selfishly threw it away because you couldn't be bothered to ask me what _I_ wanted. You think you've changed? You think you're suffering? You think you're paying some sort of _price?_ You're just as arrogant as ever, but without the… _power_ to do anything with it. You make me sick. Come on, Marinette. Let's walk home." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, practically dragging his girlfriend behind him.

* * *

Later, Adrien was lounging on Marinette's chaise, watching her get ready to be interrogated by Alya. "I'm proud of you, Kitty," she told him.

"Thanks, Bugaboo… wait, is it OK if I call you that again? I know you asked me to stop, but… it's too cute."

Marinette rolled her eyes and pulled him in for a deep kiss. "There's your answer," she smiled against him.

 _I've got everything I need right here,_ Adrien thought to himself. _The girl of my dreams. My best friend. My partner. Someone to share everything with. And lucky for me, they're all the same person!_

A shrill scream came from downstairs. " _Tom, what is this THING in our cupboard eating our CHEESE!?"_

Adrien and Marinette froze.

 _"PLAGG-!"_


End file.
